SpiderOak Wins SDA SBIR to Put Zero-Trust Encryption in Orbit
RESTON, VA – October 27, 2026 -- The Space Development Agency (SDA) has awarded SpiderOak a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract to deliver the first zero-trust security architecture deployed in orbit, according to the company.
The award covers a High-Assurance Internet Protocol Encryptor (HAIPE) enhanced with microsegmentation. It will run across the on-orbit "red" networks of SDA's Network Established Beyond the Upper Limits of the Atmosphere (NEBULA), part of the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA). Contract value and delivery timelines were not disclosed.
Decentralized authentication moves to the satellite edge
The program brings decentralized identity-based authentication and authorization to orbit. Policy decisions and enforcement happen locally at the edge, an approach intended to keep networks available in contested environments.