Pentagon’s Rocket Cargo Gambit signifies Small Contracts, Massive Implications

Blue Origin and Anduril, two of the world’s most authentic and competitive space exploration agencies, have been awarded the contracts for orbital cargo transport by the US Airforce. But, to an utter surprise, the amount of the contracts is not as big as the implication is. Both Blue Origin and Anduril are granted $1.37 million and $1 million respectively to study whether delivering cargo through space could actually work for the military. 

But make no mistake, the small amount is just the initiation of a project that could reshape military logistics way beyond what we have seen in the movies. It appears that the Department of Defense is seriously considering the possibility of turning terrestrial logistics into orbital. 

The Dream Doctrine

Rocket Experimentation for Global Agile Logistics (REGAL), the U.S Air Force research laboratories, is working on a deceptively practical premise that might appear fiction to many; Use re-usable rockets and move cargo anywhere across the globe in under an hour. Imagine bullet Trains, just this time REGAL plans to use these rockets as a bullet train traversing through the air and defeating the time constraints head-on. 

With defense and war strategies getting innovative and leaving the orthodox approach of war behind, supply chain could be the real differentiator. How fast the backup is reaching, how quick is the delivery of weapons, how ready are the paramedics to reach where they’re needed; all of this where a cargo rocket could reach in under an hour instead of a plane taking dozens of hours and facing airspace problems, is a dream that is on it way to become a doctrine with this contract in effect. 

Not All Is Well

If you think that it’s hard to get the stuff to orbit then be known that bringing it back safely is even harder. This is called the reentry technology, where the rocket is supposed to re-enter the earth’s atmosphere. As of now, only the most advanced space companies, such as, SpaceX’s (with its Dragon capsule) and Varda Space Industries, have managed to crack the code of mastering this act of “reentry”. This seems like even more the reason for the Pentagon to take a punt on diverse players instead of entrusting the entire mission on a single vendor. 

The Mandate

Both the companies would be researching on a very different rope of the bargain. The Jeff Bezos’ company, Blue Origin, is tasked with investing in the development of its New Glenn rocket that is supposed to heavy-lift gigantic machinery into space. For the company, it’s a gateway to finally registering itself as a  reliable cargo lifter and moving beyond space tourism. 

Whereas, Anduril, on the other hand, has been assigned an upheaval task of figuring out a solution for the reentry problem. One must hope that by accepting the contract,Anduril is not taking more than it can chew as The company is a defense startup, and relatively new in the field. They are tasked with designing containers that have the capacity to bring 5 to 10 tons of material back through Earth’s atmosphere. 

Beyond Tactical Advantages

If this project bears fruit, then tactical advantage would be granted, but more could be achieved as well. Though such orbital transportation, geographic isolation and constraints would be irrelevant. 

This isn’t merely about faster supply drops. Orbital cargo transport could fundamentally alter military strategy by making geographic isolation irrelevant. Remote base, stranded allies, unreachable disaster zones, all would become accessible. As they say, “Offense is the best defense”, housing such a capability would not only save lives that were bound to fade otherwise, but also discourage adversaries from testing U.S. resolve. A military would deploy its forces anywhere globally, before the enemies could make it through their brass tacks and figure out a deployment strategy, represents the most significant military logistics revolution since the aircraft carrier.

Sure, the contract amount is not really encouraging or to some might not even seem serious. But, the first step towards an innovation that could literally defy constraints of time and space is a huge hope to look forward to.