Story by Lisa Sodders, SSC Public Affairs
Space Systems Command (SSC) will host a Reverse Industry Day focused on Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning (AI / ML) for Space, May 17-18, 2023 at the Microsoft Silicon Valley Campus in Mountain View, California.
SSC’s AI/ML Reverse Industry Day, one in a series of space capability and mission area-themed events, will focus on educating government and space industry professionals on how AI / ML can improve effectiveness across all U.S. Space Force (USSF) mission areas.
Focus areas will include communicating where AI / ML will help to solve space mission area objectives, supported through USSF investments and future budgets; matching industry partners with government customers to show AI / ML’s art of the possible; and enabling opportunities for collaboration between government, industry, investment banking and venture capital.
For example, in the space domain awareness arena, if you have a high-value space asset such as a satellite, operators and warfighters, including Space Force Guardians, need to be able to understand and interpret a lot of information and data quickly, Roth said. Is that dot a defunct satellite? A piece of space debris? An adversary moving a little too close to your valuable satellite?
The two-day event will feature a variety of keynote speakers and presentations; panel discussions with SSC, space industry leaders, and investors in space and AI / ML technologies; tours of the Microsoft facility; and one-on-one meetings between government, space industry leaders. For the first time ever, financial institutions and venture capitalists have been invited to attend, providing that critical third component – how to secure funding. More than 100 companies and nearly 300 professional have already registered to attend.
AI / ML won’t replace humans, but it has the potential to make them more effective and efficient, said Brian Gamble, an industry engagement leader within Front Door, SSC’s initiative to drive communication across the space enterprise and help industry and investors navigate the government acquisition labyrinth. “One of the first objectives is just trying to get a sense of what the ‘realm of the possible’ is when it comes to AI and machine learning, within our different mission areas,” he said.
“AI / ML can help better tip and cue to potential threats to satellites on orbit by cutting through the ‘noise’ faster than humans can, so you’ll need fewer operators to fly these systems and you’ll have better protections to think through on how to protect our systems if we’re ever attacked. We look at artificial intelligence and machine learning as a game-changing breakthrough technology that will really help ensure our ability to protect and defend the United States, especially in space. What this Reverse Industry Day is going to help us do is find out how we can better leverage these technologies for the Space Force,” Roth said. “Some key areas where we already use AI and machine learning are cyber security and space domain awareness. But that’s just scratching the surface of all the capabilities that this technology can provide to us. It’s really the government and the U.S. Space Force trying to take advantage of all the great innovation that’s occurring in our industrial base.”
— Colonel Joseph J. Roth, director of SSC’s Innovation & Prototyping Delta
Unlike a traditional SSC Industry Day, where government officials with a specific need meet with industry representatives to do market research, Reverse Industry Days are focused more on hearing from industry what is possible, Roth said. The events also provide a good opportunity for companies who haven’t previously worked with government to meet SSC officials and get all their questions answered. Over the last year, SSC has hosted more than 10 of these events.
For more information about SSC’s AI/ML Reverse Industry Days and other events, visit SSC’s Front Door webpage.
