Space Force plans to boost funding for satellite services in low Earth orbit.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Space Force is likely to expand its contract for low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite services, driven by growing demand from military branches for high-speed satellite internet, primarily supplied by SpaceX’s Starshield and OneWeb.

The Proliferated Low Earth Orbit (PLEO) Satellite-Based Services program, which began in 2023 with a $900 million cap over five years, is approaching its projected spending limit much sooner than anticipated. The program, which aggregates demand from various military departments, provides access to low-latency satellite communication services from multiple commercial vendors.

“At some point, we are going to have to raise the ceiling on the PLEO contract,” Col. Richard Kniseley, head of the Space Systems Command’s Commercial Space Office, told SpaceNews.

“The ceiling is $900 million, and we’re at about $660 million right now, just over a year since we started this contract. So the appetite is definitely there,” he said.

The PLEO contract allows the military to procure satellite services without managing separate deals for each military unit. Instead, the military combines multiple orders to achieve cost savings. “The great thing about the PLEO contract is that we’re able to group together the requirements of many different entities to get the best price possible for the government,” Kniseley added.

SpaceX’s Starshield, a military-optimized version of its Starlink satellite internet service, and OneWeb have won most of the task orders under the contract. Iridium Communications, a long-standing player in satellite communications, has received one task order so far.

Kniseley said his office also is supporting the U.S. Army’s procurement of satcom services separately from the PLEO program.  The Army recently completed a one-year pilot program evaluating commercial options and is now conducting market research to identify future satcom procurement strategies beyond the PLEO framework.