

Gen. Shawn Bratton, the Space Force’s vice chief of space operations, spoke with SpaceNews’ Sandra Erwin as part of an event focused on the Space Force 2040 at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg Center on Jan. 21. Here are six takeaways from their conversation:
A long-range planning initiative known as the Objective Force study is now in the works. It’s an internal assessment of what the Space Force needs to become over the next 15 years and, unlike traditional planning processes tied to specific programs or budgets, the study is focused on future missions and operating environments.
Rather than asking how many satellites it might need in 2040, the service is examining what capabilities will be required and how forces should be structured to sustain operations in a contested space environment.
The study is being led by the Space Warfighting Analysis Center, an organization that Bratton said could eventually be elevated to a full command dedicated to future force design.
“We’re pulling it together,” he said, describing an effort to better understand what the Army, Navy and Air Force will need from the Space Force in the coming decades.
Some missions are unlikely to change. Missile warning, satellite communications and precision navigation and timing will remain core functions, Bratton said. The difference will be in how those missions are carried out and how resilient they are under attack.
“We’ll be doing a lot more space superiority activities than we are today,” he said.
An area poised for increased focus is the cislunar region, the vast expanse between Earth and the moon. As the U.S., its allies and competitors expand lunar exploration and infrastructure, that region is becoming strategically important.
From a military perspective, operations in cislunar space could affect missile warning, space domain awareness and the protection of satellites operating far from Earth, where monitoring and defense are more difficult.
“I need to be able to command and control spacecraft beyond the moon,” Bratton said, describing capabilities that fall within the 15-year planning horizon.
The Space Force is also watching commercial activity closely. With private companies and international partners increasingly active around the moon, the service is assessing the national security implications of that expansion.
While there are no plans to deploy Space Force personnel in space, Bratton said the possibility should not be dismissed over the long term. “It would be tragic if that didn’t happen someday,” he said.
Another emerging concept shaping the service’s future is “dynamic space operations,” a term used by U.S. Space Command to describe a move away from predictable, fixed satellite operations.
Traditionally, satellites stay in the same orbits for years, making them easier to track and target. Dynamic operations would emphasize maneuverability, allowing spacecraft to reposition or change missions in response to threats.
What that looks like in practice remains unsettled. One of the most debated ideas is in-orbit satellite refueling. Supporters argue that refueling could extend satellite lifespans and enable repeated maneuvering. Bratton is less convinced.
Refueling, he said, does not offer the same operational benefits in space as it does for aircraft. Satellites continue to orbit regardless of fuel state, meaning refueling does not extend their range.
“It may save me a lot of money, and that may be the reason to do it,” he said. But from a military perspective, he added, the advantages have not yet been proven in wargames. One concern is that the added infrastructure would introduce new vulnerabilities.
“I have not seen in wargaming the military advantage during conflict that refueling brings to space,” Bratton said.
For now, Space Force leaders remain focused on near-term demands and the need for space superiority. But as satellites become central to modern warfare, Bratton suggested, the military’s newest service is preparing for a larger role and a larger footprint in the years ahead.
Bratton said the youngest U.S. military branch is being pressed by the Army, Navy and Air Force to move faster and deliver capabilities that did not previously exist. The Space Force, established six years ago, has about 10,000 uniformed service members and roughly 5,000 civilians.
“I do think we will double the size, the number of people in the Space Force … within the next five to 10 year time horizon,” Bratton said, citing expanding operational demands and the need for additional infrastructure to support them.
However, he stressed that growth must be matched with infrastructure and planning, saying, “I worry more about the infrastructure personnel side of the resourcing these days.”
Bratton was blunt about why offensive capabilities are necessary. “If the adversary is using space to gain advantage in air, land and sea, this is the only reason to establish the space force,” he said. He framed this within a broader military reality: “In warfare you have offensive and defensive actions.” The joint force expects the Space Force to act, particularly if the Army, Navy or Air Force need the Space Force to take away an advantage gained through space for an adversary. “You do that through offensive operations.”
Bratton described electronic attacks as a persistent and unresolved challenge. “We tolerate a lot of GPS jamming around the world and every day we’re just taking it,” he said. He questioned whether the United States has adequately defined limits or consequences, asking, “What is the threshold?” Bratton noted that interference has become normalized, saying, “We just now sort of accept it as that’s just how it is out there.”
This article first appeared in the February 2026 issue of SpaceNews Magazine.






