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Endorsed by Allied Defence Ministers on 13 February 2025

Background
 

  1. Over the past decade, the commercial space sector has experienced unprecedented growth and innovation. The range of activities that are possible to conduct in space are dramatically increasing as a result of technological advancements and commercial development. Expanding cooperation with the commercial space sector is essential for the Alliance to unlock the full potential of space technologies for defence and security.
     
  2. In 2019, Allies adopted NATO’s Overarching Space Policy1 and recognised space as an operational domain. Allies’ capabilities and complementary services from commercial providers should be leveraged to meet space requirements in the most secure, efficient, effective and transparent manner. Fostering cooperation with the commercial sector is therefore one of the focus areas of the Alliance’s ambitious space agenda.
     
  3. The evolution in the use of space and rapid advances in space technology have created new opportunities, but also risks, vulnerabilities and potential threats. Space is rapidly becoming more congested due to a growing number of satellites, largely operated by commercial providers. Space is also an increasingly contested domain, marked by irresponsible behaviour, malicious activities and the growth of counterspace capabilities by NATO’s potential adversaries and strategic competitors.2 NATO Allies remain committed to ensuring free access, exploration and use of outer space for peaceful purposes. As outlined in NATO’s Overarching Space Policy, NATO and Allies will continue to carry out all activities in outer space in accordance with international law, including the UN Charter, in the interest of maintaining international peace and security and promoting international cooperation and understanding.
     

Aim
 

  1. NATO’s Commercial Space Strategy aims to strengthen the Alliance’s relationship with commercial space partners and improve its ability to leverage the growing array of commercial space services to meet and inform NATO operational and defence planning requirements in times of peace, crisis and conflict. The strategy will support the implementation of NATO’s Overarching Space Policy by setting out clear priorities to enable improvements in cooperation with the commercial space sector in order to create increased complementary capabilities, capacities, and resiliency for the Alliance.
     

I.    Part one: Alliance needs and commercial perspectives
 

Alliance needs

  1. A closer relationship between the Alliance and commercial space partners from Allied nations is key to advancing the Alliance’s operational space capabilities, enabling better integration of commercial space services. Allies will provide guidance on NATO space capability efforts and leverage access to commercial services, complementary to capabilities provided primarily and directly by Allied governments.
     
  2. The Alliance requires means to better integrate commercial space solutions and expertise into NATO space training, exercises and operations. Commercial integration in those events is crucial for NATO and Allies to test and evaluate novel technologies and accelerate the refinement of requirements.
     
  3. Through the Overarching Space Policy, cooperation between Allies is encouraged to enhance the compatibility and interoperability of their space capabilities. NATO requires a more systematic approach for identifying interoperability needs and developing standards in the military applications of commercial space solutions.

Commercial perspectives

  1. In February 2024, NATO launched a strategic dialogue with the commercial space sector featuring a series of events, conferences and workshops and created ‘NIAG-SPACENET’ - a commercial space group under the NATO Industrial Advisory Group (NIAG). Over the course of several months, NIAG-SPACENET collected commercial perspectives from across 300 space companies and outlined a number of challenges in its relationship with NATO.
     
  2. Industry has highlighted the great potential of increased commercial integration and stressed the importance of establishing a space industry interface at NATO, developing flexible and streamlined contracting approaches and enabling frequent commercial participation in training and exercises.
     

II.    Part two: Strategic objectives
 

Objective 1: Leverage the use of commercial solutions

  1. NATO will flexibly integrate commercial solutions, in support of NATO core tasks, at pace to both meet and inform NATO’s operational and defence planning requirements.

Objective 2: Ensure continuous access

  1. Allies and NATO will work to ensure that commercial space services are readily available during peacetime, crisis and conflict.

Objective 3: Ensure coherence

  1. NATO will build coherent and effective relationships with the commercial sector from Allied nations, including by aligning and simplifying governance.
     

III.    Part three: Approach
 

Objective 1: Leverage the use of commercial solutions

  1. Future Space Systems: NATO will leverage contract opportunities to integrate commercial space services to complement NATO and Allies’ space systems and service requirements. NATO will map requirements across main operational and functional areas to assess which areas could be enabled and enhanced by commercial contributions – integrated with national contributions, while considering ways to reduce risks and avoiding overreliance on any single provider or solution.
     
  2. Multinational Space Cooperation: Multinational cooperation leverages economies of scale to reduce costs, increases interoperability and interchangeability, and offers a cost-effective avenue for Allies to deliver capabilities. It creates opportunities to leverage commercial solutions and create long-term relationships with the commercial space sector. Multinational cooperation opportunities should be explored to address NATO and Allied capability requirements in the space domain. With the intention of seeking to avoid unnecessary duplication, the work will be informed by and take into account, through staff-to-staff contacts, relevant policies, developments and ongoing efforts in other international organisations including, in particular the European Union, as appropriate.
     
  3. Flexible Contracting and Financing: NATO and Allies require means to constantly update the pool of commercial providers and accommodate rapidly changing requirements. Small and medium-sized enterprises and start-ups would benefit from more flexible contracting and financing models to more rapidly and effectively take advantage of commercial innovation.
     
  4. NATO Exercises, Trials and Demonstrations: Allies have agreed for space to be more consistently and prominently featured in NATO education and training activities. The Alliance will mainstream collaboration with commercial space partners across exercises, trials and demonstrations and explore means to support commercial participation.
     
  5. Driving Space Interoperability: NATO will offer a platform under its Conference of National Armaments Directors to bring together Allied standardization experts to advance space standardization activities, without stifling innovation or speed of adoption, based on Allied needs.
     
  6. Leveraging Insights: NATO will explore opportunities for commercial space capabilities to inform future operational and defence planning requirements with, inter alia, NATO’s Strategic Commands.

Objective 2: Ensure continuous access

  1. Continuous Access to Services through Commercial Agreements: The Alliance will explore establishing agreements with pools of commercial providers to ensure rapid and persistent access to commercial services in times of peace, crisis and conflict for both NATO and Allies, including through multinational initiatives. Building on best practices from Allies, such agreements should be flexible and adaptable to operational requirements, commercial offerings and evolving technologies. This will help commercial partners to better understand NATO’s needs, invest and meet necessary security measures, including for cybersecurity, and expand manufacturing capabilities.
     
  2. Sharing Best Practice: NATO will explore establishing cooperative relationships with commercial space partners, national space agencies or any other relevant governmental bodies, and intergovernmental organisations,3 and incentivize collaboration and sharing of lessons across the commercial space sector to enhance industry’s ability to prepare for and respond to vulnerabilities, incidents and threats.
     
  3. Enhancing Survivability and Resilience: While the Alliance is not aiming to develop space capabilities of its own, it can increase the effectiveness and resiliency4 of member state national space capabilities that could be called upon to satisfy NATO operational requirements as well as to support NATO operations.
     
  4. NATO Space Domain Awareness: NATO will explore opportunities to rapidly exchange Space Domain Awareness data with civilian and military national space operations centres and commercial sector partners from Allied nations, as appropriate, with a particular focus on operators of space systems and space-related terrestrial infrastructure. NATO will also expand its collaboration with national initiatives to facilitate access to information on risks and threats and enhance collaboration with the commercial sector.
     
  5.  Financial and Contractual Risk Mitigation: NATO will undertake a study to better understand commercial challenges, examine already existing support measures and make recommendations for potential additional mechanisms to reduce risks to commercial space partners.
     
  6. Preserving Freedom of Action: Considering that Allies have recognised that space is essential to the Alliance’s deterrence and defence, and to a coherent Alliance posture, the Alliance will consider a range of potential options, for Council approval, across the conflict spectrum to deter and defend against threats to or attacks on Allies’ space systems, as appropriate and in line with the principles and tenets outlined in the Overarching Space Policy.1

Objective 3: Enhance coherence

  1. Commercial Interface: NATO requires an interface6 to enable engagements with and equitable access to the commercial sector from Allied nations in a coherent and streamlined manner, supporting both NATO and Allies. This unique access point model will serve as NATO’s space ‘front door’ allowing commercial providers to connect better with different NATO procurement offices and programmes and learn about Allied and NATO mission areas, needs and contracting opportunities. It will help to expand NATO’s networks, including to Allied national space agencies, other established Allied commercial interfaces, or any other relevant governmental bodies and intergovernmental organizations, and will enable closer operational engagements between NATO and commercial providers, while upholding security standards. It would allow Allies to better track the capacity and capabilities of the commercial space sector. This new function will not replace or duplicate existing NATO or Allied procurement organizations, but instead aims to reduce bureaucracy and accelerate adoption and facilitate integration of commercial solutions.
     
  2.  NATO Space Capabilities Group: NATO will establish a new Space Capabilities Group under the Conference of National Armaments Directors to provide Allies with a single venue to better promote cooperation and standardization in the area of Space. The group will support the development of NATO and national operational capabilities and will aim to enhance capability, interoperability, availability, maintainability and affordability. The Space Capabilities Group will seek to create synergy among the procurement, research, technology and commercial communities.
     

Way forward
 

  1. As outlined above, NATO’s Commercial Space Strategy aims to strengthen the Alliance’s relationship with commercial space partners and improve its ability to leverage the growing array of commercial space services in times of peace, crisis and conflict. NATO will develop, in consultation with industry, an Implementation Plan to deliver the Strategic Objectives, keep the strategy under review and update it as necessary.

1. NATO’s Overarching Space Policy, 27 June 2019

2. 2023 Vilnius Summit Communique.

3. This may include Space Information Sharing and Analysis Centres from diverse organizations.

4. Recalling that resilience and sustainability of Allies’ space systems is a national responsibility.

5. At political, strategic command and operational command levels.

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