H.R. 10972: Nodes, Enterprise Workloads, and Hybrid Operations, Resilience, Integration, Zero-Trust, Orbital Networks Act

This bill would direct the Department of Defense to run a pilot program testing whether commercially available orbital data centers and space-based cloud computing can be used for military and national security missions.

What the pilot program would do

• Start the program within one year of enactment.
• Be carried out through the Defense Innovation Unit under the Department of Defense.
• Test commercial space-based computing, storage, and networking services in real operational settings, not just in theory.
• Look at uses such as intelligence, space domain awareness, command and control, and data transport.
• Evaluate whether processing data in orbit can reduce delays, improve resilience, and help missions in difficult or contested environments.

What the Pentagon would have to examine

The bill says the pilot should assess:

• How useful orbital data centers are for military purposes;
• How well they integrate with existing Defense Department systems;
• Whether they improve speed, security, resilience, and mission assurance;
• How they could be protected against cyber, electronic warfare, and other threats;
• Whether the technology could eventually be used in larger, ongoing defense programs;
• How well systems from multiple vendors work together.

Security and technical requirements

If sensitive or classified information is used, the bill requires the Department of Defense to make sure the services have strong protections in place, including:

• Zero-trust cybersecurity measures;
• Encryption and access controls;
• Continuous monitoring;
• Protections against insider threats;
• Measures to address supply chain risk and foreign ownership, control, or influence;
• Resilience features such as redundancy, failover, and rapid replacement;
• Secure command links, anti-jamming and anti-spoofing protections, and secure software updates;
• Safeguards for ground systems, network connections, and user interfaces;
• Data isolation and tenant separation to prevent unauthorized access across users or systems.

Consultation and reporting

The Defense Department would need to consult with several defense and intelligence organizations, including the Space Force, the National Reconnaissance Office, and other relevant agencies or groups.

By December 31, 2028, it would have to brief congressional defense committees on:

• How the pilot was carried out;
• Which use cases were tested;
• What lessons were learned;
• Any recommendation to buy or use these services more broadly;
• Cybersecurity and insider-threat issues;
• Resilience against counterspace threats;
• Risks from commercial providers, including supply chain and foreign influence concerns.

How long it lasts

The authority for the pilot would expire five years after the bill becomes law.

Relevant Companies

• None found