RapidFort signed a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement with SpaceWERX, the innovation arm of the Space Force, to harden the software that runs military space systems. The deal, announced October 6, sets up a joint research and testing framework aimed at three problems that have slowed space software for years: exploitation risk in AI software stacks, post-quantum threats to satellite links, and the long wait for security approval before code can fly.
Under the arrangement, RapidFort will work alongside SpaceWERX operators, acquisition staff and Guardians to evaluate and co-develop security tooling built for contested space domains. The company is a software supply chain security provider that specializes in hardening container images and profiling how software behaves at runtime.
Why space software is hard to defend
Satellite systems lean on long-lived software that was often written before modern supply chain attacks were a routine concern. A single compromised library or base image can ride into a mission system and sit there, invisible, for the life of the spacecraft.
RapidFort’s approach is to strip out the parts of a software stack that a program never uses, shrinking the surface an attacker can reach, which the company says also cuts the number of vulnerabilities that must be tracked and patched.
The post-quantum clock
The agreement also targets the migration to quantum-resistant cryptography, tying the work to federal directives that require agencies to plan for a future where today’s public key encryption can be broken. For space, the exposure runs through the links between satellites and the ground, where traffic may stay sensitive for decades.
SpaceWERX brings access to Space Force missions and a route to operational testing. RapidFort brings its open-source supply chain ecosystem. Both sides frame the goal the same way: move approved software to orbit faster without dropping the security bar.
