The government should investigate supply chains in the space economy

A recent SpaceNews report on the “growing pains” of the smallsat industry was a wakeup call to some, due to the critical importance of a healthy, vibrant space industrial base. A resilient foundation will enable our national strategy against well-funded and rapidly advancing threats. But rather than comparing the government-directed and inadequate business practices of the past, an analysis of the companies themselves is warranted, as I wrote in Forbes last year. Whatever is making these commercial companies tick, our government would be wise to peek behind the curtain at their financial health and carefully planned supply chains, to unleash the extraordinary leverage that commercial off-the-shelf systems and components offer.