A Republican bill with 1 Democratic cosponsor · See the cosponsor
Last activity — Read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services.
In committee
Introduced and handed to a committee in the chamber it started in.
The committee holds it, and most bills are never heard from again. A hearing or a committee vote would be news; silence is the usual outcome, and it kills the bill without anyone voting against it.
Its path through Congress
- Introduced
- In Committee
What this bill would do
This bill is known as the Nodes, Enterprise Workloads, and Hybrid Operations, Resilience, Integration, Zero-Trust, Orbital Networks Act or the NEW HORIZON Act. It requires the Secretary of Defense to run an operational pilot program to test commercially available orbital data center services and space-based cloud computing capabilities. The program will evaluate how well these in-space technologies meet national security and joint military mission requirements. The Defense Innovation Unit will carry out the pilot program under the Hybrid Space Architecture initiative within one year of the Act's enactment. The Secretary of Defense must brief congressional defense committees on the program by December 31, 2028. Finally, the authority to carry out this pilot program will end five years after the Act is enacted.
Yes· 3 of 8
- Scored +5
Does this put more into space exploration?
Requires an operational pilot program to evaluate space-based cloud computing and orbital data center capabilities.
- Scored +4
Does this better protect the country from computer attacks?
Mandates rigorous cybersecurity protections, zero-trust architecture, and secure communications for orbital data centers.
- Scored +3
Does this make it easier to run a small business?
Encourages competitive participation from nontraditional defense contractors and commercial space providers.
The opposite
No question was scored the opposite.
Who it would affect, and how
Potential Positive Impacts for People
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Encouraging New Business Partners: Under Section 2(b)(4), the Secretary of Defense must encourage competitive participation from a diverse set of nontraditional defense contractors and commercial space providers. This provision can help bring new commercial companies into government work and accelerate domestic innovation.
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Improving National Security Operations: Section 2(b)(2) outlines purposes for the pilot program such as assessing military utility, examining resilience and latency, and improving mission outcomes. By testing in-space data processing, the military hopes to reduce delays and maintain better operations in contested environments.
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Protecting Sensitive Information: Under Section 2(b)(5), the Secretary must ensure that any orbital data center services used for sensitive or classified information have specific cybersecurity protections, risk-management measures for foreign ownership or supply chains, and safeguards for workload isolation. These measures help keep critical government and defense information safe from unauthorized access.
Potential Negative Impacts for People
- Security and Supply Chain Risks: Section 2(b)(5) notes that using commercial providers in space introduces risks related to supply chains, foreign ownership or control, insider threats, and potential cyber or electronic warfare attacks. Relying on commercial vendors for sensitive defense operations could expose critical systems to foreign or malicious interference if vulnerabilities are not properly managed.
Groups and Interests Ranking
Every group the model scored this bill for, from -10 to +10. Tap or hover a score for the reason it gave.
- Economy And Finance
- Does this make it easier to run a small business? — Encourages competitive participation from nontraditional defense contractors and commercial space providers. Is this likely to create jobs? — The bill encourages commercial participation and contracting for space-based technologies, potentially boosting specialized tech sector jobs. Is this likely to grow the economy? — Promotes domestic innovation and commercial space industry capabilities through targeted defense pilot programs.
- Education And Technology
- Does this put more into space exploration? — Requires an operational pilot program to evaluate space-based cloud computing and orbital data center capabilities.
- National Security And Foreign Policy
- Does this better protect the country from computer attacks? — Mandates rigorous cybersecurity protections, zero-trust architecture, and secure communications for orbital data centers.
- Demographic And Interest Groups
- Would business owners be better off under this? — Benefits commercial space providers and nontraditional defense contractors by opening opportunities for federal contracts.
- Governance And Ideology
- Does this make what the government does easier for the public to see? — Requires briefings and reports to congressional defense committees on the execution and findings of the pilot program. Does this give the federal government more power? — Directs the Department of Defense and the Defense Innovation Unit to execute a specific federal pilot program.
- 6/4/2026
- Read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services.
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- Introduced in Senate
John HickenlooperDemocrat · Colorado