In order to enhance their communication capabilities to be more robust and reliable, the Space Force is considering using small commercial GEO satellites. The smaller size of these satellites offer a few distinct advantages over traditional GEOs. The three biggest advantages being cheaper costs, improved maneuverability, and faster development and production cycles.

The reduced costs come from less hardware and cheaper launches as the small GEOs weigh only 300 to 500 kilogram compared to weighing multiple tons like traditional GEOs. According to Matthew Gann, Terran Orbital’s senior vice president of strategy and business growth, “The price points are one-tenth of the price of what you pay for the big GEO comms”. This means the Space Force could in theory purchase or lease an entire constellation of small GEOs for well below what the current market rate for GEO capabilities is. Moreover, due to the smaller size, they are faster to be developed and produced. This means quicker iterations for R&D cycles and that new capabilities can be added sooner.

Compared to similarly sized LEO satellites or larger GEO systems, these would have the benefit of improved maneuverability and global coverage. Due to their size they can use all-electric propulsion, which is important as it means there will not be a limit on maneuvers compared to a fuel based system. This also means that even a smaller constellation can give a good amount of global coverage via maneuvering, and opens up more capabilities for “agile” military use.

From a cyber perspective, the GEOs being smaller makes them less of a target compared to larger satellites. Furthermore, them being in GEO makes them harder to attack compared to a similar sized LEO. All of these satellites are planned to support the PTW (Protected Tactical Waveform), which is a government waveform used specifically for military purposes to provide some cyber protections. All in all, these seem like an improvement for cyber security purposes, so it makes sense that the Space Force is considering using commercial versions of the satellites.

Source:
https://spacenews.com/space-force-seeks-agile-solutions-with-small-geo-services/