Space and the U.S. Military: Operationally Responsive Space

Space and the U.S. Military: Operationally Responsive Space

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Caption: A classified National Reconnaissance Office payload is boosted into orbit

Space and the U.S. Military: Operationally Responsive Space

<strong>Editor’s note</strong> <em>This is second of a two-part series on the military implications of the emerging use of microsatellites.</em>

Teaser
Though their initial utility may be tactical in nature, smaller and less expensive satellites may also have strategic implications.
Summary
In addition to tactical utility, smaller and less expensive satellites now being researched and developed could have much broader strategic implications for the Pentagon's satellite constellations, the survivability of some of its assets and the way space is incorporated into the operational battle space.
Analysis
In addition to the expense and time of getting a satellite in orbit, there is the satellite's inherent vulnerability; it is out there for everyone to see and generally follows a well established path, and thus is targetable. Most of all, the absolutely essential communication links between ground-based users and space-based platforms are vulnerable to jamming.
The increased experimentation with smaller and cheaper satellites (the TacSat series is exploring the utility of satellites weighing less than 1,000 pounds) has at its core two implications for U.S. satellite constellations.
First, conceptually, as the theory goes, a series of networked small satellites might be able to do much of the work of larger individual satellites, and at a lower cost. This will never be the case entirely, but the more it becomes the case, the more dispersed and harder to target satellites will become -- and thus the capability will become more survivable.
Second -- and more significant -- is the operational responsiveness such a trend promises. A $1 billion National Reconnaissance Office satellite, no matter how good it might be, simply cannot be funded, designed and built and inserted into orbit in short order (and keeping a spare on hand is obviously an expensive proposition).
However, a constellation of even several dozen small, light satellites built with commercial off-the-shelf components can be readily kept on hand (indeed, the idea will be to have one design that can accommodate multiple mission payloads) and be boosted to orbit on smaller, lighter satellite launch vehicles (i.e. ones that require less preparation and are less expensive to keep on hand). With significantly shorter service lives, they would not function or remain in orbit nearly as long as more expensive systems.
While this has profound implications for an emergency capability to reconstitute space-based assets lost to a surprise attack, it also means that the operational utility of space can be more flexible and responsive to emerging needs. In other words, in a crisis, the military has long been mostly stuck with whatever space-based systems were already in place. Day-to-day use had to be balanced with crisis use. But with what the Pentagon calls "Operationally Responsive Space," if events dictate a major military operation anywhere in the world, appropriate -- tailored -- assets can be allocated quickly and economically and, where appropriate, put into orbit. This would make deploying space-based assets more like deploying any other military asset -- unmanned aerial vehicles, warships, fighter jets and tanks alike. Once the Pentagon determines the appropriate package, processes can be set in motion to deliver them on the order of a week to a month, rather than the multi-year strategic outlook (and considerable funding) required for most space-based systems today.
Of course, although the United States maintains its lead in technology, ultimately any shift toward smaller and cheaper satellites will not be the proprietary. Others are likely to follow suit, making breakout space-based capabilities more attainable for the technically proficient, and making low earth orbit significantly more crowded.
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