Artificial Intelligence and the Space Enterprise: Taxonomy and Emerging Opportunities

Artificial intelligence is increasingly integrated across the space mission lifecycle, from design and launch to operations and data analysis. This paper presents a taxonomy of AI applications across the space enterprise and identifies emerging opportunities for autonomy, decision support, and mission optimization. It examines technical, organizational, and policy challenges associated with adopting AI in space systems and highlights the need for governance frameworks, workforce development, and collaboration across government and industry. The authors argue that strategic AI integration is critical to maintaining U.S. leadership in space and enabling resilient, data-driven space operations.