Rebecca Cowen-Hirsch: Industry-Government Partnership Key to Modernizing Military Space

Rebecca Cowen-Hirsch, senior vice president of government strategy and policy at Inmarsat Government, wrote in an opinion piece published Friday on Via Satellite that the modernization of military space calls for the government to strike a new level of partnership with industry and support “commercial first” innovation and principles.

“The commercial industry is working ahead of the government in developing technology innovation for space, so government should take advantage of the commercial edge to the fullest extent possible,” Cowen-Hirsch wrote. “By partnering with one another, industry can plan, produce, and innovate in a more strategic manner, to effectively align its efforts and investments with stated government needs.”

She discussed how future federal budget appropriations could help facilitate the strategic acquisition of commercial satellite communications and how satcom-as-a-service model supports an integrated enterprise architecture.

Cowen-Hirsch also cited the importance of building public awareness to rally support for an enterprise satcom vision and encourage younger generations to pursue careers in the field of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.