---
type: source
title: "SDA is already running battle management algorithms in space via PWSA — SATShow Week panel on orbital data centers"
author: "National Defense Magazine"
url: https://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/articles/2026/3/25/data-centers-in-space
date: 2026-03-25
domain: space-development
secondary_domains: []
format: thread
status: processed
processed_by: astra
processed_date: 2026-04-03
priority: high
tags: [SDA, PWSA, battle-management, orbital-compute, defense-demand, Golden-Dome, Kratos-Defense, SATShow, operational-ODC]
extraction_model: "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.5"
---

## Content

**Source:** National Defense Magazine, March 25, 2026
**Event covered:** SATShow Week panel discussion, March 24, 2026

**Key finding — SDA PWSA operational context:**
- The Space Development Agency (SDA) "has already started implementing battle management, command, control and communications (BMC2) algorithms in space" as part of its Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA)
- "The goal of distributing the decision-making process so data doesn't need to be backed up to a centralized facility on the ground"
- Space-based data processing is "maturing relatively quickly in the U.S." as a result of the Trump administration's Golden Dome for America initiative

**Panel participants included:** Chris Badgett from Kratos Defense

**Key insight on space-based processing:** "The tech industry's pursuit of space-based AI data centers has potentially significant implications for military space operations, potentially enabling faster communication between satellites from multiple orbits and strengthening sensing and targeting for Golden Dome."

**Context on space processing maturation:**
- Space-based compute enables edge processing where the data is generated — sensors, satellites, spacecraft
- Reduces dependence on ground station bottlenecks for time-critical military operations
- Space Force noted: space-based processing capabilities expected to "mature relatively quickly" under Golden Dome pressure

**Space Force $500M allocation:**
- The U.S. Space Force has allocated $500 million for orbital computing research through 2027

## Agent Notes
**Why this matters:** The SDA's PWSA is already operational with distributed battle management — this is not future R&D, it's current deployment. Battle management algorithms running in space via PWSA means the defense sector has already crossed the threshold from R&D to operational use of on-orbit computing, even if "data center grade" compute hasn't been deployed. This is the strongest evidence yet that Pattern 12 (national security demand floor) is transitioning from Gate 0 (R&D) to Gate 2B-Defense (operational use). The PWSA context also means the Axiom/Kepler ODC nodes (which are built to SDA Tranche 1 optical communications standards) are specifically designed to interoperate with this existing operational defense architecture — the alignment is architectural, not aspirational.

**What surprised me:** The framing of PWSA as a "decentralized approach" that distributes decision-making to avoid centralized ground facilities. This is literally the same architecture as an orbital data center — compute at the edge, distributed, not reliant on ground uplinks for each decision cycle. PWSA may be the first generation of operational orbital computing for defense, with commercial ODC as the second generation at higher compute density. The distinction between "battle management algorithms in space" and "orbital data center" may be more semantic than substantive at this scale.

**What I expected but didn't find:** Specific PWSA satellite counts and compute specifications. The article covers the concept but not the engineering parameters. How much compute is currently running in space via PWSA? This would let me assess whether current operational ODC is at "kilowatt class" (Starcloud-1 level) or something larger.

**KB connections:**
- [[space governance gaps are widening not narrowing because technology advances exponentially while institutional design advances linearly]] — battle management AI running in space via PWSA creates governance questions: who has authority over automated space-based decisions? What oversight exists? What happens when two nation-states' space-based battle management systems interact?
- [[the Artemis Accords replace multilateral treaty-making with bilateral norm-setting to create governance through coalition practice rather than universal consensus]] — PWSA is US-only architecture; allied militaries that want interoperability face the Accords-style bilateral coordination challenge for military space computing
- [[orbital debris is a classic commons tragedy where individual launch incentives are private but collision risk is externalized to all operators]] — PWSA consists of hundreds of Tranche satellites in LEO, contributing to debris risk in the service of military capability

**Extraction hints:**
1. "The Space Development Agency's Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA) is already running battle management, command, control and communications algorithms in space as an operational capability — establishing defense as the first deployed user of orbital computing at constellation scale, preceding commercial orbital data center deployments" (confidence: likely — directly evidenced by SDA official statements and program documentation)
2. "The commercial orbital data center sector's interoperability with SDA Tranche 1 optical communications standards (as demonstrated by Axiom/Kepler nodes, January 2026) reflects deliberate architectural alignment between commercial ODC and operational defense space computing — creating a dual-use orbital compute infrastructure where commercial operators build to defense standards" (confidence: experimental — the SDA standards alignment is documented; whether this is deliberate strategy or organic convergence requires further evidence)

**Context:** National Defense Magazine is a publication of the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA), which represents defense contractors. The SATShow Week context is the satellite industry's major annual conference — the convergence of defense officials and satellite industry executives discussing ODC at this venue indicates the defense-commercial ODC convergence is being actively discussed at the industry-government interface, not just internally within DoD.

## Curator Notes
PRIMARY CONNECTION: [[defense spending is the new catalyst for space investment with US Space Force budget jumping 39 percent in one year to 40 billion]]
WHY ARCHIVED: SDA PWSA is already operational with battle management algorithms in space — this upgrades the defense ODC demand signal from "R&D investment" to "operational capability." The PWSA + Axiom/Kepler SDA-standard alignment is the strongest evidence of Gate 2B-Defense forming in the ODC sector. Complements the Air & Space Forces Magazine Golden Dome article (same session) — together they establish that defense demand for orbital compute is both architecturally required (Space Command) and operationally deployed (SDA PWSA).
EXTRACTION HINT: The PWSA operational status claim is the primary extraction target (confidence: likely). The architectural alignment between SDA standards and commercial ODC is the secondary experimental claim. Extract both. The synthesis about Gate 0 → Gate 2B-Defense is a cross-session analytical claim — flag for the Two-Gate Model synthesis, not as a standalone extraction.
