The Rising Tide:
Star Wars and Space Tech
Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink speaks at the U.S. Air Force Academy graduation ceremony on May 28, 2026 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. A total of 931 graduates received their diplomas during the ceremony and will enter the Air Force or Space Force to serve for a minimum of 5 years. (Photo: Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images)
Before we get to the turmoil in the A.I. industry, here’s a story you may have missed that’s worth following. From Bloomberg, a first-of-its-kind public disclosure:
Air Force Secretary Troy Meink announced at a conference on Monday [Sept. 14] that the US now has a space weapon that would be used to protect American forces, prompting a warning from the Russian Foreign Ministry of “the gravest consequences” if it is used.
The weapon is the orbital component of the current US space arsenal that has consisted of ground-based jammers intended to temporarily disrupt Chinese and Russian communications satellites, though not to destroy them. …
“We’re not going to talk about the specifics of what we’re doing — whether we’ve tested it, not tested it, or anything else,” Meink told reporters Monday after his disclosure.
Why boards and senior executives should care
Global governments want defense technologies in space to help shape the outcome of terrestrial conflicts, notes JPMorgan.
Their ambitions will have broad impact: By 2050, “[s]pace is likely to become fundamental to nearly every business, much like the internet evolved from a distinct sector in the early 2000s into a core part of every company today,” says Goldman Sachs’ global head of aerospace, defense, and government services Mike Tarulli.
As newer systems in space come online, leaders need to start thinking about contingencies: “What would happen if our organization lost access to space-based services — GPS, satellite communications, earth observation data — even for a day or two?” says Deloitte principal Alison Walgren. “That could disrupt things in ways people don’t always anticipate.”
Why workers should care
Job opportunities related to this sector are varied and don’t necessarily involve traveling to space, according to Indeed.
Law, policy, sustainability, financing, marketing, communications, and project management roles are all in demand, per Arizona State University’s Thunderbird School of Global Management.
“Persistent geopolitical instability, demand for faster innovation cycles, [and] record levels of private capital” are among the biggest drivers of growth for space tech, the Goldman Sachs report says.
Why investors should care
Boeing, Northrop Grumman, L3Harris Technologies, Lockheed Martin, RTX, BAE Systems, HawkEye 360, Planet Labs, Voyager Technologies, Rocket Lab, Firefly Aerospace, and of course SpaceX are all space and defense companies that will be impacted, Barron’s Al Root writes.
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