Senator Ted Cruz (R), joined by John Hickenlooper (D-CO), has introduced bipartisan legislation that would establish a Department of War pilot program to evaluate orbital data centers and space-based cloud computing services for military and intelligence operations.
What is the NEW HORIZON Act?
U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz and John Hickenlooper have introduced the Nodes, Enterprise Workloads, and Hybrid Operations, Resiliency, Integration, Zero-Trust, Orbital Networks (NEW HORIZON) Act, a bipartisan bill to advance the military's use of space-based computing technology.
The legislation would create a Department of War pilot program to test commercially available orbital data centers and cloud computing platforms operating in space. Lawmakers say the initiative could improve the way data generated by satellites is processed, stored, and used for national security missions.
Why are lawmakers proposing the bill?
According to Cruz, large amounts of data collected in space often go underutilized because of limitations in transmitting information between satellites and ground stations.
What are lawmakers saying?
Sen. Ted Cruz: "Data generated in space goes underutilized because of network bandwidth issues between satellites and ground stations."
Sen. Cruz continued: "This legislation enables the Department of War to conduct operational testing on space-based data processing and storage, and will help reduce latency, improve resilience, and enhance operational effectiveness across military and intelligence missions."
Sen. John Hickenlooper: "As we venture deeper into the digital age, it's critical we lead the way in next-generation technologies."
What would the pilot program do?
The New HORIZON Act would authorize testing and limited operational use of orbital computing systems for missions involving:
- Intelligence gathering.
- Space domain awareness.
- Military command and control operations.
- Other national security functions.
The Department of War would also be required to evaluate cybersecurity protections, resilience, interoperability with existing defense systems, and defenses against cyber, electronic warfare, counterspace, and kinetic threats.
The Bottom Line
The bipartisan NEW HORIZON Act seeks to determine whether space-based data centers and cloud computing platforms can strengthen military operations, improve data processing capabilities, and enhance national security in an increasingly digital and space-focused environment.
