The corporations involved and the beneficial projects they could be doing instead

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Corporations Lead U.S. Militarization of Space

The corporations involved could be making peaceful, beneficial goods and services

CHRISTIAN

JUL 16

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 War corporations (“defense companies”) can be converted into corporations producing beneficial products. 

The following map shows the U.S.-based corporations helping the Pentagon militarize space. Scroll around! See what your local facility could be producing instead.

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Click on the picture to explore the map.

As seen in the map, these space corporations could pivot to:

• manufacturing satellites that monitor weather, climate, crops, and ocean temperature and currents
• manufacturing satellites that help people navigate and explore (not guide bombs and artillery to kill people and destroy homes, which GPS does)
• manufacturing communications satellites
• designing electronics for public infrastructure
• crafting sensors for public safety 
• developing hardware and software to track space junk
• developing ways to gather space junk
• fabricating composite materials for public transportation
• defending the planet against near-earth objects (NEO)
• helping governments and scientific bodies to peacefully explore the cosmos 
• demilitarizing space
• researching and developing non-polluting propulsion for space launch
• conducting basic research of the electromagnetic spectrum
• educating the public about mathematics, physics, and engineering
• doing so much more!

Industrial conversion itself is a straightforward process. It just takes political will. 

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Photo by NASA on Unsplash

Methodology

I scoured fiscal 2025 U.S. military contracting announcements in order to find all announcements pertaining to space. My study focused on the contracts issued by a relevant military unit (e.g., Space Systems Command at Los Angeles Air Force Base) or for military operations to, in, or from space. I excluded contracts issued by the Missile Defense Agency, which contracts with industry to recognize and intercept ballistic missiles. I use the term “contract” in this study to include contracts, contract modifications, and contract options.

The categories on the map are not firm boundaries. Many corporations sell goods and services across multiple categories (e.g., IT, ground infrastructure, consulting). 

Corporate locations are organized and color-coded based on their main focus. For example, Boeing manufactures satellites in El Segundo, California, but also makes some space networking and control technology for use on the ground. I colored it black, representing satellite manufacturing, the location’s primary focus.

USAspending.gov and corporate websites (including SpaceFoundation.org) also provided information for the map.

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Christian Sorensen is a researcher focused on the U.S.-based corporations profiting from war. He is associate director of the Eisenhower Media Network (EMN).