Compass Points - Rocket Cargo

One hour service globally

Compass Points - Rocket Cargo

One hour service globally

April 9, 2025

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Is there a new way for the high-tech US Space Force and the crisis response US Marine Corps to work together around the globe? It might take new thinking in both services.

For the last several years, the Marine Corps has focused more on putting small, high-tech missile units of Marines on Pacific islands: sensing, making sense, and passing on data. Senior Marine leaders, sadly, have been much less focused on the traditional Marine mission to "locate, close with and destroy the enemy by fire and maneuver, or repel the enemy assault by fire and close combat."

Yes, technology always advances, but the fundamental nature of war endures.

A new Commander-in-Chief is putting a renewed focus on warfighting. Now, even the Space Force is getting the message. The new Space Force capstone publication, Spacepower, speaks to the fundamental nature of war.

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WAR ’S ENDURING NATURE

War is socially sanctioned violence to achieve a political purpose.11 As Clausewitz said, “War is the continuation of politics by other means.” As such, no domain in history in which humans contest policy goals has ever been free from the potential for war. In keeping with international law, the United States acknowledges that the use of space is for peaceful purposes, while preparing for the reality that space must be defended from those who will seek to undermine our goals in space.

As a clash of opposed wills, war manifests as dynamic competition. Belligerents act and react to their opponents, each attempting to thwart the other and gain a position of advantage from which to impose their will. Above all, humans, not weapons, fight wars. This human element injects uncertainty, disorder, surprise, emotion, adaptation, and cunning into the conduct of war.

The term warfare describes the methods of waging war.12 The context of war varies and can range from declared hostilities between sovereign adversaries to limited violence between non-state proxy forces. The competition continuum includes a mixture of cooperation, competition below armed conflict, and armed conflict. In any conflict, political aims, policy restraints, and the law of armed conflict shape the intensity of warfare. [p. 17]

. . . In the competitive context of war, victory results when one side successfully imposes their policy aims on a rival through coercion. All forms of military power — including military spacepower — pursue this objective through the threat or application of force. In so doing, the victor compels a change in behavior an opponent would not other- wise choose to pursue. These outcomes can range from limited concessions to the total surrender or overthrow of an enemy government. [p. 20]

-- US Space Force

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The Space Force's focus on warfighting includes a new push to defend and attack satellites in space. In addition, the Space Force along with the Air Force has a growing interest that might be very useful to Marines on the ground: logistics rockets. Space News recently reported on a new program: Rocket Cargo.

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The Rocket Cargo program represents a bold step in military logistics, leveraging the burgeoning commercial space sector to shrink delivery timelines. Traditional airlift methods, while reliable, can take days to move cargo across continents. In contrast, AFRL aims to use space vehicles — such as reentry capsules dropped from rockets in flight — to achieve same-day delivery. Companies like Inversion Space, Outpost, Sierra Space, and Varda Space are developing such capsules. Launch providers like SpaceX, Rocket Lab, and Blue Origin hold Air Force contracts to demonstrate these capabilities.

-- Space News

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An article in DefenseXP goes further, "Rocket Cargo: The Future of Rapid Military Logistics."

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With rapid, reusable rockets, this program could drastically shorten delivery times, deliver military supplies anywhere in the world in under an hour and lower costs in ways that conventional air or sea transport cannot.

. . . The Rocket Cargo concept aims to address the limitations of conventional logistics by delivering supplies faster, with potentially lower costs. For instance, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, a reusable spacecraft, can launch at a cost of about $67 million per flight with a cargo capacity of 22,800 kg (50,265 pounds), though expensive, this is already a significant improvement over older rockets like the Space Shuttle, which cost around $1.5 billion per launch. And further, it is expected that the cost per launch would come down significantly.

For instance, Elon Musk said that SpaceX’s Starship could reduce costs to as low as $2-3 million per launch, which as of now costs around $ 100 million per launch. With its large cargo capacity and reusability, it could potentially reduce the cost of transporting cargo from California to Japan to just over $1,000, all while delivering the cargo in less than an hour. This is particularly critical for military operations, where restoring operational capabilities quickly during a crisis can be the difference between success and failure.

-- DefenseXP

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A Marine force could be resupplied instantly anywhere in the world. A 155mm artillery round weighs roughly 100 pounds. Marine artillery batteries running low on ammunition could be resupplied with 500 155mm rounds from Rocket Cargo in under an hour.

Perhaps there is more Rocket Cargo could do? With 50,000 lbs available for trasport in each rocket, perhaps Rocket Cargo could deliver not only supplies for Marines anywhere around the world, perhaps Rocket Cargo could deliver Marines.

Imagine a small Marine Expeditionary Unit in a remote corner of the globe providing cover for the Rocket Cargo rocket as it drops from the sky. The rocket contains not only supplies, but also two combat loaded infantry platoons. That is rapid crisis response.

Even the tech focused Space Force admits that the fundamental nature of war never changes. No matter how high, high-tech climbs, the US will always need a 9-1-1 force of skilled warriors to arrive at a distant crisis to deter, assist, and fight. The US will always need a global, crisis response Marine Corps. But perhaps one day the crisis response Marines will need the support of Rocket Cargo.

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US Space Force

Spacepower - Space Capstone Publication

https://www.i5space.com/_files/ugd/77ecfa_eccf84902e184bab9106fd113490eeac.pdf

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Space News - 03/02/2025

Air Force selects Pacific landing sites to test space cargo deliveries

By Sandra Erwin

https://spacenews.com/air-force-selects-pacific-landing-sites-to-test-space-cargo-deliveries/

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DefenseXP - 10/12/2024

Rocket Cargo: The Future of Rapid Military Logistics

By Bheemanagouda M Patil

https://www.defencexp.com/rocket-cargo-the-future-of-rapid-military-logistics/