U.S. Space Force

Kobayashi Maru Improves Software Delivery for Guardian Operations

The U.S. Space Force (USSF) depends on responsive, secure software to track threats, manage space assets, and coordinate with coalition allies worldwide. When outdated acquisition processes created dangerous gaps in Space Command and Control (Space C2) capabilities, Kobayashi Maru paired with Rise8 to build and sustain a modern delivery model, introducing a new way of deploying mission-critical software for faster decision-making and more secure operations.

34,000+	64 Days	36%	3.2 Days
Warfighter Hours Recovered	Time to Initial Capability	Reduction in Cognitive Burden	Average Deployment Frequency

The Challenge

By 2018, efforts to modernize Space C2 had stalled. The traditional acquisition process, built for hardware-centric programs, was not designed for modern software development. Previous attempts, like the Joint Space Operations Center Mission System (JMS), produced years of delayed delivery and millions in sunk costs without functional software reaching the warfighter.

Air Force leadership responded by standing up Kobayashi Maru (KM), an agile software initiative modeled after the Air Force's Kessel Run, to challenge bureaucratic inertia and prove that fast, secure, operator-aligned software delivery was possible inside government. KM established an embedded software factory under Space Systems Command (SSC), tasked with building and deploying applications to frontline units including the Combined Space Operations Center (CSpOC) and the 18th Space Control Squadron (18 SPCS).

But even with the right structure, KM encountered systemic obstacles:

Resource gaps left CSpOC, the nerve center for Joint Space C2, underserved as funding was redirected toward Space Domain Awareness priorities.
Technical debt consumed team capacity. Brittle legacy codebases were expensive to maintain and nearly impossible to integrate with modern cloud infrastructure.
Fragmented deployment environments across IL4, IL6, and on-premises systems created inconsistency, version drift, and weeks-long update delays for coalition partners in the UK, Canada, and Australia.
Operators absorbed the cost of bad software. Without reliable tools, warfighters resorted to manual workflows, and a single space tasking order could take 45 minutes to create.‍
The organization lacked a repeatable path to production, leaving every delivery dependent on heroic effort rather than scalable process.

The result: decisions that should take minutes stretched into hours or days, directly eroding national security and the Space Force's ability to respond to emerging threats.

The Approach

Rise8 embedded with Kobayashi Maru to build more than software. We built the capability to continuously deliver it. Rather than operating as a traditional vendor, we paired 1:1 with Guardians, civilian staff, and contractors to transfer skills, mature practices, and establish a sustainable delivery engine.

Photo credit: U.S. Space Force / Los Angeles Air Force Base

Most defense software programs spend 60% to 80% of their total effort on infrastructure before any mission capability ever reaches an operator. Rise8 reversed that equation. By treating this same infrastructure work as a product itself (with its own roadmap, quality bar, and delivery cadence) we compressed infrastructure overhead and redirected the balance of effort toward mission capability. The result: a durable app ecosystem where every downstream investment in mission software moved faster, shipped safer, and cost less.

The platform work centered on three focus areas.

1. Secure Environments and Reliable Pipelines

Delivering across IL4, IL6, and on-premises means no two environments are the same. Rise8 built a standardized foundation that worked across all three.

Developed and deployed secure development and production environments across IL4, IL6, and on-premise to support consistent integration and deployment processes.
Standardized delivery pipelines using GitLab CI, Terraform (IaC), and GitOps (ArgoCD) for consistent, auditable software releases.
Maintained version parity across environments, allowing developers to build and test at the unclassified level and promote code to IL6 without direct access to SIPRNet.
Delivered continuous updates to CSpOC operators without compromising security controls.
Optimized cloud infrastructure through cluster consolidation, right-sizing, and reserved instance allocation, while maintaining Point-in-Time-Restore (PITR) capabilities.

KEY ENABLER // A PATH TO PRODUCTION BUILT FOR SPEED AND SCALE
64 Days	3.2 Days	35+	$40k/month
Time to initial operating capability	Average deployments across classified apps	Application teams supported by accredited path to production	Cloud cost reductions through infrastructure optimization
This ecosystem replaced multi-year acquisition cycles and multi-month update windows with weekly releases to production, giving frontline operators new capability at the speed of the mission.

2. User-Centered Design, Embedded with Operators

Legacy processes kept operators out of the build cycle entirely. We put them at the center of it, from the first line of code to the final release.

Paired engineers, product managers, and UX designers directly with operationally deployed Guardians, using feedback loops to build features that meet mission needs.
Brought SupraCoders onto the development teams to apply their expertise and operational experience while training them to ship features that solve real mission problems.
Implemented Extreme Programming (XP) and test-driven development (TDD) to increase software reliability and reduce rework.
Shifted from project-based to product-based development, focusing on iterative improvements based on operator feedback loops.

KEY ENABLER // A SPACE FORCE THAT OWNS ITS SOFTWARE DELIVERY CAPABILITY
Government-led product roadmaps actively managed by organic product managers	A cadre of certified SupraCoder graduates integrated into balanced delivery teams	Internal training curricula transferring XP, TDD, and Lean PM practices across future assignments
Guardians don't just use the software. They build, deploy, and sustain it. That shift reduces dependence on external contractors and preserves delivery capability across rotations and reorganizations.

3. Security and Compliance Automated from Day One

Treating compliance as a final gate guarantees rework. We built security into the workflow from day one, so it never became a blocker.

Integrated automated security scans (static code analysis, container scanning, and runtime validation) directly into CI/CD pipelines.
Enforced Zero Trust principles through role-based access control (RBAC), micro-segmentation, and least-privilege defaults.
Eliminated manual compliance tasks by building applications to meet security requirements from the start, not as a post-facto checklist.
Paired continuous automated testing with user-centered design to meet Developmental and Operational Test requirements, avoiding the large infrequent test events that historically uncovered issues late.
Migrated legacy workloads to Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) with GitOps drift prevention via ArgoCD.

KEY ENABLER // A RESILIENT, SECURE FOUNDATION FOR MISSION OPERATIONS
5.8%	2 Hours	88.4%	0
Change Failure Rate. Significantly outperforming traditional government benchmarks	Mean Time to Recovery (MTTR)	Automated test coverage	Upgrade-related mission outages since HA implementation
Security isn't a checkpoint at the end. It's a property of the ecosystem, continuously verified. That reliability is why operators can trust the software in the fight.

Additionally, by pairing 1:1 with Guardians, civilian staff, and contractors to build real products for real users, Rise8 transferred modern development methods directly into the workforce. Guardians carried those practices into future assignments, expanding government ownership and sustaining a culture of continuous delivery across the organization.

Together, the three focus areas enabled the app ecosystem that made the mission impacts below possible.

Operational Applications Delivered

Together, KM and Rise8 built and deployed a suite of applications supporting daily Space C2 and Space Domain Awareness operations. Real-time operator feedback shapes weekly releases, replacing update cycles that previously stretched to weeks.

SpaceBoard	High-interest event tracking tool providing real-time awareness of launches, reentries, and sensor status on a centralized display. Supports 1,600+ global users across US, UK, Canada, and Australia for unified coalition situational awareness.
SureFire	Radio frequency deconfliction support tool replacing the deprecated FlightCheck system. Automates RF safety decisions and provides coalition partners with coordinated access to space assets.
SpaceDesk	Space Support Request (SSR) management tool that transforms email-based workflows into a transparent status-tracking system. Reduced request processing from 45 minutes to 3 minutes.
BlueStat	Sensor maintenance management tool centralizing all sensor data in one application. Reduced sensor maintenance workflow time from 41 minutes to 30 seconds.
Vue	Satellite-object identification (SOI) optimization tool increasing tracking capacity from 20 to 1,500 objects per week while cutting error rates from 30% to under 3%.
Relay Strat	Space Operations Directive (SOD) management tool reducing production and dissemination time from 8 hours to under 5 hours.
Relay Plans	Master Space Plan (MSP) production tool enabling creation of a complete MSP in 15 minutes using live data, replacing a process reliant on weeks-old information.
Relay Tasks	Combined Space Tasking Order (CSTO) tool cutting tasking order production time by 50% while standardizing formats and enabling dynamic sensor unit tasking.
Spectra	SATCOM Electromagnetic Interference event reporting tool providing a single source for correlating data and generating reports.
AMS	Account Management Service providing access to all KM applications for USSF and international partners, reducing account creation time to hours instead of weeks.

Mission Impact

Rise8 applies the W.K. Kellogg Foundation Logic Model to connect technical execution to mission outcomes.

The three buckets of mission impact below represent durable, strategic changes in Space Force capability. Each is traced back through the outcomes, outputs, activities, and resources that produced it, and each is rooted in a specific mission question: what can the warfighter now do that they couldn't before?

MISSION IMPACT 1 // INCREASED DECISION CLARITY FOR SPACE C2

Administrative automation reallocates operator time & cognitive load to mission decisions. Clearer software produces sharper decisions in a contested domain where decision speed is survival.

OUTCOMES

■Operators reduced cognitive burden by 36% on average across the portfolio, measured by NASA Task Load Index (TLX) before and after release

■Operators on SureFire workflows reported a 90% reduction in perceived complexity, the largest TLX improvement in the portfolio

■Operators eliminated manual data-transfer workarounds (USB disk swaps, print-scan-email loops) that had normalized into accepted friction

OUTPUTS

■SureFire web application replacing the deprecated FlightCheck system

■Core Deconfliction Assessment (CDA) queuing workflow within SureFire

■BlueStat sensor maintenance application consolidating data previously spread across legacy systems

■Self-service Deconfliction Support Request (DSR) submission portal integrated into SureFire

■SpaceDesk status-tracking system replacing email-based Space Support Request workflows

ACTIVITIES

■Baselining and re-measuring NASA TLX for every feature release

■Conducting in-console observation and contextual inquiry with operators at CSpOC, 18 SPCS, and NSDC

■Mapping operator journeys to expose hidden friction in workflows operators had stopped questioning

■Running iterative usability testing with deployed Guardians between releases, not at gate reviews

■Pairing UX designers directly with SupraCoders to translate operator expertise into interface decisions

RESOURCES

■Dedicated UX design teamed with operationally deployed Guardians

■React and Material UI front-end stack

■Standing access agreements with deployed military personnel for continuous feedback

■Human-Centered Design research cohorts drawn from CSpOC, 18 SPCS, and NSDC

■NASA TLX instrumentation built into the release cadence

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MISSION IMPACT 2 // ACCELERATED SPACE C2 WORKFLOWS

Every minute an operator saves on routine tasking is a minute reinvested in understanding the adversary. Acceleration compresses the kill chain and lets Guardians stay proactive rather than reactive in the space domain.

OUTCOMES

■Guardians recovered 34,000+ warfighter hours across nine mission applications through automated workflows

■Collection Managers reduced SOI collection deck creation from 101 hours per week to under 1 hour and scaled processing capacity from 20 to 3,000 objects per week (Vue, 31,000+ hours recovered)

■Space Tasking Cycle operators cut production times end-to-end: SOD from 8 hours to under 5 (Relay Strat); MSP from weeks-old data to 15 minutes on live data (Relay Plans); CSTO production time halved (Relay Tasks)

OUTPUTS

■Vue's SOI matching algorithm with UDL TLE ingestion

■Relay Tasks MSP-to-CSTO auto-population feature

■Override and batch-processing features across the Relay Tasking Suite

■Relay Tasks sensor grouping with auto-populated mapping to the relevant tactical unit for batch selection and on-demand task assignment

■Core Deconfliction Assessment (CDA) algorithm rewritten in Java and validated outside the legacy environment

ACTIVITIES

■Running Value Stream Mapping workshops with operators to identify manual and duplicative processes in the Space Tasking Cycle

■Baselining workflow completion times before each release and re-measuring after

■Rewriting and validating legacy algorithms on modern infrastructure

■Automating manual data entry, re-entry, and reconciliation across workflow handoffs

■Pairing engineers and product managers with operators to prioritize the workflows with the heaviest time burden

RESOURCES

■Back-end algorithm engineering capacity on the balanced team

■Operator workflow baseline data

■Python Pipeline Transforms (Polars) for long-running algorithms

■Accredited Path to Production enabling fast, safe algorithm releases

■Balanced team composition (PM, UX, SWEs) paired with active-duty Guardian billets

■Timed task observation framework used during operator visits to capture step-by-step workflow completion data across multiple users

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MISSION IMPACT 3 // FASTER KILL-CHAIN DECISIONS IN THE COALITION AND MULTI-DOMAIN ENVIRONMENT OF SPACE OPERATIONS

The mission is multinational, multi-domain, and multi-classification. Every data silo is an intelligence gap, and every integration closes one. Shared data means a shared picture, and a shared picture enables coordinated action across allies and domains.

OUTCOMES

■Coalition operators in the US, UK, Canada, and Australia gained unified space situational awareness for the first time, with 1,600+ users on a shared picture

■Operators eliminated redundant data entry on TLE and sensor maintenance data through two new system integrations connecting Vue to the UDL and to BlueStat

■Operators building the CSTO eliminated manual re-entry of MSP data by pulling live, structured data directly from Relay Plans into Relay Tasks

OUTPUTS

■SpaceBoard's centralized high-interest event display designed for coalition access

■Vue's UDL integration for automated TLE ingestion and Vue's BlueStat integration for sensor availability

■SureFire V1 view-only UI on Warp Core in JWICS

■Spectra "Viewer" role opening EMI and event reports to 66 external SATCOM community users

■Relay Tasks Mission Type Orders workflow for the 18 SPCS, adding 57 new users

ACTIVITIES

■Conducting user research with coalition operators in the UK, Canada, and Australia

■Mapping integration paths across IL4, IL6, JWICS, and on-premises environments

■Pioneering the first KM-portfolio marketplace deployment on JWICS and codifying the path for other teams

■Designing role-based access for non-operator stakeholders (mission partners, external customers, coalition users)

■Integrating Vue with the Unified Data Library to replace manual TLE ingestion with an automated data flow

RESOURCES

■Keycloak identity and role management across user populations

■NATS messaging, RabbitMQ, and Kafka for cross-application data flow

■Unified Data Library (UDL) connectivity and cross-classification environment access (IL4, IL6, JWICS)

■GraphQL and SQL data access layers designed for integration-first workflows

■Cross-domain deployment infrastructure supporting SIPRNet, JWICS, and coalition partner networks

Summary

Kobayashi Maru represents a fundamental shift in how the Space Force builds and sustains mission capability, from a consumer of legacy technology to a producer of modern, operator-aligned software. By focusing on speed, ownership, resilience, warfighter impact, and fiscal efficiency, Rise8 delivered more than a suite of applications. The result: a Space Force that responds to threats at mission speed, not acquisition speed.

Most defense software programs measure success by what they shipped. KM measured it by what changed for the warfighter. 34,000 hours recovered. Cognitive burden down 36%. Operators building the software they use every day.

That shift, from output to outcome, from feature delivery to durable mission capability, is what separates this program from the ones that produce story points and slide decks. That led to real mission impact: Guardians operating with greater decisional clarity, command and control workflows that move at mission speed, and a coalition sharing a single, unified picture for the first time.

Contract Information

Awarded under the Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC), DevSecOps Support for Space Command and Control (Space C2) Contract for the SMC Cross Mission Ground and Communications Enterprise Directorate (SMC/ECX). Note: The program has undergone multiple reorganizations, with the shift to Space Systems Command.

Contract Period of Performance: May, 2020 - October, 2026