Space Force

The Netflix absurdist comedy Space Force was an Ars favorite in 2020, easily winning a spot on our annual list of best TV shows. We loved the show’s wickedly sly humor, absurdist set-ups, and unexpected heart. It’s finally back with a second season, and while much of the old magic remains intact, it’s starting to lose its luster just a bit—perhaps because we only got seven episodes instead of ten (thanks, never-ending pandemic).

(Spoilers for S1 below.)

As we’ve reported previously, the series was created by Steve Carell and Greg Daniels (who also created Parks and Recreation and Upload). Space Force was inspired in part by the Trump administration’s announcement that it would establish a national Space Force. Carell plays four-star general Mark Naird, a decorated pilot with dreams of running the Air Force.

But in the pilot episode, his dreams for promotion were dashed when he was tapped instead to lead the newly formed sixth branch of the US Armed Forces: Space Force. His new appointment earned the mockery of Naird’s four-star general rival Kick Grabaston (Noah Emmerich). Ever the good soldier, Mark uprooted his family and moved to a remote base in Wild Horse, Colorado where he and a colorful team of scientists and aspiring “Spacemen” struggled to meet the White House insistence on getting American boots on the Moon (again) by 2024, thereby achieving “total space dominance.”

Naird naturally butts heads with his chief scientist, Dr. Adrian Mallory (John Malkovich), a pacifist who has misgivings  about working for the Department of Defense. Mark’s wife, Maggie (Lisa Kudrow) is in prison, and his daughter Erin (Diana Silvers) resents having to live in Colorado. The impressive main cast also includes Ben Schwartz as social media director Tony Scarapiducci; Jimmy O. Yang as Dr. Chan Kaifang, Mallory’s lead assistant; Tawny Newsome as Captain Angela Ali, a helicopter pilot who becomes one of the mission’s astronauts; and Don Lake as Brigadier General Bradley Gregory, Naird’s adjutant.

Somehow, Space Force succeeds in getting those boots on the moon—but so does China. In the S1 finale, the Joints Chief of Staff were outraged by the Chinese astronauts’ desecration of the Apollo 11 Lunar Flag Assembly (they rolled over it in a rover). Naird’s strategy for a mild attack on the Chinese habitat was over-ruled by the Secretary of Defense, who ordered the destruction of the Chinese lunar base, which would likely trigger all-out war.

Mallory threatened to resign, and Naird decided to defy his orders. That, in turn, led to Grabaston executing a military coup and taking over Space Force, arresting Mallory and Naird. The US astronauts were told to attack the Chinese habitat with wrenches. They returned from this dubious mission to find that the Chinese astronauts had crippled the US base, putting their very survival at risk. And, scene.

That first season was inexplicably panned by critics (viewers were far more positive). Maybe those critics weren’t watching the same series, because we here at Ars loved the show, even though Senior Space Editor Eric Berger had some issues with the depiction of the space-tech. It’s not The Office, nor is it Veep, and that’s a good thing. My take:

Space Force‘s approach to comedy is that of a precision scalpel carefully sheathed to avoid inflicting too much damage with its cuts. There’s an underlying warmth and affection for all these fallible characters trying to do something extraordinary, making us root for them even as we laugh at their pratfalls…. Malkovich shines like a supernova as Dr. Adrian Mallory, a committed pacifist, passionate about his science, working for a military operation (“Space should be a zone of wonder, not of conflict and death”). His languid acerbic wit and genteel sophistication are the perfect foil to Carell’s tightly wound, rough-around-the-edges, everything-by-the-book general, who feels deeply but keeps those feelings bottled up, as a good soldier should. Their unlikely friendship, forged in the fires of a nigh-impossible task, is the heart and soul of the series.

Netflix clearly felt the series performed well enough to warrant a second season. The season picks up a few months after the finale. Angela and her fellow astronauts (including the Chinese) managed to make it back to Earth, and Space Force is now subject to a disciplinary hearing before the new administration’s Secretary of Defense (Tim Meadows). Naird emerges still in charge of Space Force, but the fledgling agency has four months to prove itself—and its budget has been slashed in half.

Meanwhile, Angela is struggling with her new national hero status and distancing herself from her fledgling relationship with Chan. He handles it pretty much like the lovable nerd he is: by constructing an elaborate flowchart complete with equations to assess the situation. (Dude, take a hint from that returned-text ratio.) Mallory’s beloved manned Mars mission gets the axe, leaving its lone astronaut, Captain Lancaster (Patton Oswalt) in a precarious predicament. Naird’s wife, Maggie, files for divorce, and Erin is ambivalent about going to college, angling to take a gap year instead.

The writers do an excellent job of giving each member of the gifted ensemble cast their moment in the spotlight. Nor so they skimp on small throwaway comic moments that can ornament a scene, like the fact that US satellites in the series are all named after 70s rock bands (Genesis, Rush, Blue Oyster Cult). In the strongest episode, Naird and Mallory host a diplomatic dinner with a visiting delegation from China. Mallory spars with the delegation’s chief scientist, a defiant moon landing denier who needles Mallory by dismissing Neil Armstrong as a “terrific actor.” Meanwhile, Naird, a notorious lightweight, must hold his own, shot-for-shot, against the Chinese general to successfully negotiate a 50/50 split of the moon’s resources.

However, because of the shortened season, S2 just doesn’t have the breathing room to develop the grace notes that so enriched the storytelling of that first season, especially with regard to the interpersonal relationships. The characters don’t really develop much at all, making that whole aspect feel rather thin. I especially missed the subtle moments between Naird and Mallory, although Carell and Malkovich deliver their usual impeccable performances. This is still a delightful, eminently bingeable series and I’m rooting for a full third season without the constraints of shooting during a full-blown pandemic.

The second season of Space Force is now streaming on Netflix.

Listing image by Netflix

Lisa Costa was appointed chief technology and innovation officer of the Space Force in September 2021

WASHINGTON — Lisa Costa, chief technology and innovation officer of the U.S. Space Force, said the service is eyeing investments in edge computing, data centers in space and other technologies needed to build a digital infrastructure.  

“Clearly, the imperative for data driven, threat informed decisions is number one, and that means that we need computational and storage power in space, and high-speed resilient communications on orbit,” Costa said Jan. 13 at a virtual event hosted by GovConWire, a government contracting news site. 

Costa was appointed CTIO of the Space Force in September 2021. She was previously director of communications systems and chief information officer of U.S. Special Operations Command.

She said the Space Force has a long-term vision of being a “digital service” and is now laying out a strategy to invest in “the right infrastructure for a competitive and contested domain.” 

A key goal of the Space Force is to be agile and “outpace our adversaries,” said Costa. Timely and relevant data is imperative, and that will require investments in government-owned and in commercial infrastructure in space, she added. “Things like cloud storage, elastic computing, critical computation for machine learning, infrastructure in and across orbits.” 

She noted that the Space Force has to do a better job communicating its needs to the commercial industry and to universities that are developing many of the technologies the service is seeking.

Edge computing and data management in orbit are growing market segments in the space industry. Onboard computing allows satellites to process data they collect and perform autonomous decision-making and tasks faster than if the data had to be transported to a server on the ground. 

Space Force guardians need these capabilities so they can analyze data using machine learning and artificial intelligence, Costa said. “AI is incredibly important in space. So where are we going to do that processing?” 

Having space-based orbital computational power is “really critical so we don’t have to download massive amounts of data to ground stations to do processing, and then upload the information,” she said. “So help us figure out the best ways of processing information, and getting it to the decision makers.”

A digital infrastructure that can move data quickly “is absolutely imperative because of two primary factors: the nature of the threat and the size of our Space Force, which is quite small.”

“We are the only U.S. military service that was established during the information age,” said Costa. “And so the Space Force has this unique opportunity to be born digital. And we’re seizing on that opportunity.”

A powerful United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket launched two “neighborhood watch” satellites for the United States Space Force on Friday (Jan. 21).

The Atlas V lifted off from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 2 p.m. EST (1900 GMT) Friday, carrying two identical Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program (GSSAP) satellites to orbit.

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“Space is … hard” and “Nowhere to go but up” read some of the Netflix promotional language and posters tied to Space Force season 2, the satirical, half-hour workplace comedy that skewers the creation of the real-life US Space Force.

Those are meant to be tongue-in-cheek soundbites connected to Netflix’s fictionalized version of this new military agency, but they also work just as well in contextualizing the show itself, in addition to the critical response to it. That’s because reviewers by and large skewered season one of this Steve Carell-led series, and pretty savagely, too — a bummer, since Space Force reunited Carell with The Office creator Greg Daniels. Nevertheless, Netflix gave the show at least one more shot, and season two is now streaming on the platform.

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Space Force season two

We’d be remiss if we didn’t point out — plenty of fans actually liked the show just fine. The Rotten Tomatoes audience score certainly speaks to that. And honestly, if you’re a fan of The Office-style humor, there’s no reason you can’t get some pleasant, sitcom-style amusement out of this show. Carell’s Gen. Mark Naird almost feels a little like Michael Scott’s older, more successful brother. The same kind of dry, Dunder Mifflin-esque humor, too.

You get lines like this one, when Carrell’s Gen. Naird is given command of Space Force in a formal ceremony: “I only wish that my parents could have been here to see this. But they were unable to get flights from New Jersey in time.”

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Another favorite line of mine from season one came during a budget hearing, when a congresswoman dubiously asked Gen. Naird about Space Force: “Why do you exist?” Carell’s character didn’t miss a beat:

Because “the Yankees won the 1961 World Series, and my parents got a little carried away with their celebration.”

As I said, the show’s not trying for The Sopranos-level critical excellence here. But it’s a pleasant watch, nonetheless.

Rotten Tomatoes rating

“Season 2 of Space Force picks up with General Naird and his underdog team having to prove their worth to a new administration while dealing with interpersonal challenges,” Netflix’s summary explains. “Will the group come together or fall apart under the pressure? Space Force is only human after all.”

The good news is that the early critical reviews that have trickled out so far seem much more positive than the last time around. In fact, the show currently has 100% critics and audience scores right now on Rotten Tomatoes.

Granted, there are only six reviews for the new season from critics showing up there right now. And seven user ratings as of the time of this writing. But, hey, at least it’s starting strong. From Rotten Tomatoes users, about the new set of episodes:

• UNBELIEVABLE!!!!! Loved absolutely every second of it, so hilarious and well done, I mean what a huge huge treat to be able to watch a show this good. Netflix, for the love of God, pick this up for a season three.

• Great! Was an awesome season it left me wanting more. After I finished the last episode I couldn’t believe it was so short! I need more Space Force!

• Killer cliffhanger. Good season.

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WASHINGTON — The Space Force’s procurement organization has set 2026 as a target date for delivering “maximum operational capability” in the form of new, more resilient space systems.

That timeline, says Space Systems Command Executive Director Joy White, was set by SSC Commander Lt. Gen. Michael Guetlein and is informed by growing concerns among the service’s leadership about growing on-orbit threats.

Speaking during a Space Symposium 365 event this week, White didn’t elaborate on the threat assessments that support the 2026 need date, but said there’s an urgency among the service’s acquisition leadership to ensure its processes and culture are structured to support rapid development and fielding of new space capabilities.

While it’s not immediately clear how SSC leadership defines “maximum operational capability,” the command’s push for fielding more resilient constellations — and doing so quickly — aligns with messaging from Air Force and Space Force leadership.

Defining “a resilient space order of battle” tops Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall’s list of operational imperatives, which he outlined earlier this year. Chief of Space Operations Gen. John Raymond said during a Mitchell Institute event in January the service would “begin to pivot significantly” to a resilient architecture this year. And the Biden administration’s nominee to serve as the Air Force’s first-ever space acquisition executive, Frank Calvelli, brought the point home during his confirmation hearing Thursday.

“We are at a critical juncture for our space defense architecture, and there is a real sense of urgency to act,” Calvelli, a former National Reconnaissance Office official, told the Senate Armed Services Committee. “The nation needs to make its space architecture more resilient so that it can be counted on during times of crisis and conflict.”

For SSC, supporting the push for resiliency means organizational and cultural changes as well as finding new ways to engage with industry and streamline its processes, White said. On the organizational side, the command is poised to announce a realigned structure in the coming weeks aimed at reducing bureaucracy, increasing industry engagement and tightening its focus on key mission areas. As for shifting the culture to be “laser-focused on the threat,” White said SSC has mandated monthly threat briefings for all acquisition personnel and is offering content from those briefings to industry.

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White also discussed a new initiative to leverage commercial innovation called “SSC Front Door,” which she said will give industry a more clear entry point to engage with the command. The front door team is made up of leaders across the space acquisitions, operations and science and technology community who are “empowered to make opportune investments in high-potential technologies.”

In the area of requirements generation, White said SSC works closely with the Space Force’s new Space Warfighting Analysis Center, which is developing force designs for key Space Force mission areas. As the SWAC completes its designs, the Program Integration Council – made up of representatives from each space acquisition organization – recommends requirements to support the proposed architecture, which go to the Space Acquisition Council for approval. The approved requirements are then fed to the relevant program offices at SSC or another acquisition organization.

“This new process enables end-to-end capability delivery, unity of effort in the space realm and encourages bold thinking to ensure resilient warfighting capabilities,” White said.

As SSC hones its processes and culture to support the Space Force’s resiliency push, the Air Force’s space acquisition and integration office is working to ensure its near-term budget requests reflect Kendall’s operational imperatives.

During a Feb. 10 Space Force IT Day hosted by the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association, Chief of Space Force Acquisition and Planning Col. Dan Visosky said the service is looking at whether it can make changes to the fiscal 2023 budget, though most of the focus is on affecting the fiscal 2024 budget cycle.

“The timelines are tight,” he said. “They’re being built to go quick right now to affect those [program objective memorandums], but I would look for them to be enduring. I think they’re going to be ongoing, year over year, and that we’re going to keep on getting after it through each [Program Objective Memorandum] cycle.”

A new U.S. Space Force video “demands action” on space debris and asks the private sector for their help cleaning up the growing space mess.

The video was released Jan. 5 on the Space Force’s SpaceWERX website (its technology branch) to push a program called Orbital Prime, which aims to test out an on orbit-system within two to four years. The first solicitation is due Feb. 17.

A metaverse that lets guardians go to space virtually is especially appealing to the Space Force because its members don’t get to go in real life

HERNDON, Va. — The Space Force should take advantage of the industry’s massive investments in immersive digital technology and develop a virtual environment for guardians, said Lisa Costa, the service’s chief technology and innovation officer.

“We could create our own version of the metaverse,” Costa said Feb. 10 at the AFCEA Space Force IT conference. 

The metaverse is a growing buzzword in the tech world used to describe an interactive 3D virtual environment. “There’s a lot of hype associated with the term metaverse,” she said. “But on the other hand, a lot of money is going into this idea” to it’s worth looking at ways the Space Force can tap into this investment. 

In a military metaverse, service members could collaborate, train and conduct any number of activities, Costa said. She noted that 86% of U.S. airmen and guardians from the ages of 18 to 34 view themselves as gamers. “How do we take advantage of those skills?”

Businesses are jumping on this bandwagon, developing realistic, physically accurate digital twins that simulate natural environments or industrial operations. 

A metaverse is especially appealing to the Space Force because guardians normally rely on digital representations of the space domain to do their jobs, Costa said. While sailors go to sea to learn naval warfare and soldiers go to the field for combat drills, guardians don’t get to go to space unless they become NASA astronauts. 

“The only way they experience their domain of operations is with a display of visual data,” she said. A virtual reality environment would provide them “situational awareness and understanding what their options are so they can make decisions.”

The technologies that make up the metaverse include virtual reality as well as augmented reality that combines the digital and physical worlds. Costa said Space Force guardians could digitally engineer satellites, for example, and develop new capabilities for space operations.  “And that’s kind of the vision for where we want to go next,” she said. “Training our guardians and taking advantage of the investments that industry is making.”

Costa said all the military services could benefit from this technology and the Space Force, due to its small size, could test it out and see if it can be scaled up for use across the U.S. military.