On November 18, the United States Space Systems Command signed an agreement with Blue Origin, for further national security space missions. Blue Origin’s rocket, New Glenn, will be able to compete for contracts once it passes its required flight certification. In order to launch national security space missions, at least two successful orbital launches must be performed.

This Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) does not include any government funding and is mostly symbolic. Rather, I think it is meant to emphasize the inclusion of private companies into helping national security in space. Signed by Brig. Gen. Stephen Purdy and Senior VP for New Glenn at Blue Origin, the Space Force is signaling that it wants Blue Origin to compete with ULA and SpaceX, fostering innovation and competition. I think that is especially good because now this paves the way for further space companies and/or startups to become invested in the space domain. With all of these investments, they will need protection for its assets, which will further cybersecurity implementations in space systems.

Link: https://spacenews.com/space-force-opens-door-to-blue-origin-with-new-cooperative-agreement/