Fighter pilots get sprawling ranges where they can duel with aggressor squadrons and test tactics. Space operators have never had an equivalent, because hostile activity in orbit is hard to observe and operational satellites are far too valuable to risk in drills.
That is what NITE-STAR is meant to change. On July 30, Space Systems Command selected 15 companies to compete for task orders worth up to $981M through July 2032 under the National Space Test and Training Complex program. The pool includes Amentum, BAE Systems, Boeing, CACI, Firefly Aerospace, L3Harris, Lockheed Martin Space, Northrop Grumman, Pacific Crest Alliance, Parsons, Redwire, Rocket Lab, Sierra Space, Viasat and York Space Systems, chosen from 20 bids.
Mock enemies and fake attacks
The contracts cover everything from orbital vehicles programmed to imitate an adversary’s moves to ground gear able to replay cyberattacks, communications jamming and other forms of electronic warfare. The point is to let guardians rehearse defending U.S. satellites and experiment with tactics before any live spacecraft is ever put at risk.
A blend of live and virtual
NITE-STAR anchors the physical side of what the service calls a “live, virtual, constructive” training concept, tying real satellites and ground equipment to high-fidelity simulations and computer-generated threats. Officials argue operators need to know not just their own systems, but the jamming, laser and cyber tactics adversaries can throw at them.
