Title page 1

Contents 3

Highlights 2

Letter 6

Background 9

Commercial Space Data and Services 9

DOD Organizations that Purchase and Use Commercial Space Data and Services 11

Global Data Marketplace 12

Data Rights for Commercial Space Data and Services 14

Strategies and Executive Order Relevant to Using Commercial Solutions 15

Congressional Direction Regarding Commercial Space Data and Services 16

Prior GAO Reports 17

DOD Purchased a Wide Variety of Commercial Space Data and Services to Support Various Missions 18

Space Force Purchased Many Types of Data and Services through GDM 18

NRO Purchased Commercial Imagery Through Various Agency-Awarded Contracts 21

NGA Purchased Analytic Products Through a Variety of Contracting Mechanisms 24

Working Group Has Not Been Leveraged To Help Address Challenges in Purchasing and Using Commercial Data 26

JCO Took Action to Address Potential Delays from Changes to GDM Purchasing Process 26

Some Officials Did Not Have Information About a Forum That Could Help Address Challenges to Purchasing and Using Data and Services 28

Adversary Threats to Commercial Space Companies Pose Challenges 31

Conclusions 32

Recommendation for Executive Action 32

Agency Comments and Our Evaluation 33

Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and Methodology 35

Appendix II: Global Data Marketplace and National Reconnaissance Office's Data Rights Licenses 42

Appendix III: Global Data Marketplace Purchasing Process as of April 2026 45

Appendix IV: Comments from the Department of Defense 47

Appendix V: GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments 49

Table 1. DOD Strategies and Presidential Executive Order Related to the Integration of Commercial Space Data and Services 15

Table 2. NRO's Reported Range of Available Funding for Commercial Imagery, Fiscal Years 2021-2025 23

Table 3. NGA's Reported Range of Obligations for Commercial Analytic Products, Fiscal Years 2021-2025 25

Table 4. GSA Contract's Tactical Surveillance, Reconnaissance and Tracking (TacSRT) Cost Categories and Criteria for Each Operational... 28

Table 5. NRO's Types of End User License Agreements for Sharing of Commercial Imagery 43

Figure 1. Notional Example of Commercial Space Data and Services 10

Figure 2. Joint Commercial Operations Cell (JCO) Commercial Space Data and Service Purchases by Expenditures Through the Global Data... 19

Figure 3. Commercial Space Services Helped Identify Possible Airstrips in Ecuador Potentially Used by Narcotraffickers 21

Figure 4. National Reconnaissance Office Purchased Images of Chinese Aircraft Carriers at Sanya Naval Base, Hainan Province, China 24

Figure 5. Notional Example of Variation of Data Rights and Prices for Space Domain Awareness Data offered by a Vendor on the Global Data... 42