SpiderOak Chairman Charles Beames was recently published in Forbes, where he discusses the critical role commercial innovation must play in strengthening the future of U.S. space assets and national security.

After years of hesitation, the national security space community is finally boarding the commercial space train, one that many of us have been pushing for since the early 2000’s. The momentum is exciting, but long overdue. In the past decade, the United States has seen a transformation in space capabilities, driven not by government labs or legacy contractors, but by private capital and market-driven innovation. And the results speak for themselves: faster timelines, lower costs, and more resilient architectures—all achieved without compromising mission success.