2009 started with quite a bang. First, the dramatic freefall of economies around the globe and then the collision of a pair of satellites in orbit. However, amid the doom and general gloom, the inauguration of U.S. President Barack Obama has fuelled optimism in the United States and beyond.
One of the most intriguing questions surrounding the Obama administration is how its military strategy will influence budgets in the coming years. Space assets have proven increasingly valuable when conducting operations in hostile environments, and the demands for military space capacity have far outstripped supply, making the military space market an increasingly lucrative one for commercial players.
But today, there are more questions than answers. How will the administration deal with the situations in Iraq and Afghanistan? How will budget plans and the overall economy affect military spending? With the United States serving as one of the biggest influences and largest spenders on military operations, the eyes of the space community are locked on what strategies will be developed.
In this Military Supplement, we provide a comprehensive look at some of the key issues, including a study of the efficiency of the U.S. system for procuring and paying for space operations and a look at the military space market outside of the United States, as a number of countries are beefing up their military space capabilities. Finally, we have a discussion with John Higginbotham, CEO of Integral Systems, a ground systems supplier in the military space arena, about the aftermath of the collision of a pair of in-orbit satellites and what impact this should have on international space cooperation.