[Satellite News 04-30-09] Greater cooperation, better security and managing space debris were some of the key issues discussed at MilSpace 2009 in Paris.
    At the week-long event, Brig. Gen. Susan Helms, director of plans and policy for U.S. Strategic Command (US StratCom) made a call for greater co-operation in space. “With the cost of space development increasing, it is in all our interests to work together. U.S. StratCom is a very different organization today. We have a much broader remit. Our missions are global in nature. Space is no longer the desolate and remote ocean. It is perhaps best described as now a central station. We approached space as a new frontier in the 20th century. Actors in space are now far more diverse. In 21st century, we need to view space as similar to other domains. The space environment is part of the global economy,” she said.
    Richard McKinney, European space liaison for the U.S. Air Force echoed Helms’ sentiments and pointed to a number of successful cooperative efforts between Europe and the United States since 2006. “There has been some been some discussion to expand [European-U.S. cooperation] to security issues. I think Galileo and GPS are complementary systems. The world will have a tremendous capability in terms of navigation. The co-operation between EUMETSAT and [U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association] NOAA sees a lot of weather forecasting coming from that,” he said.
    McKinney said he believes cooperation worked better when it was not based on joint funding of projects. “When working towards a U.S./European roadmap for co-operation in space, I would say, don’t exchange funds. You need to focus on data and information exchange. It is very hard to co-ordinate the gathering of funds,” he said.
    Karyn Hayes Ryan, associate COO of the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office of the Pentagon said younger generations of space professionals are often the driving forces for cooperation efforts. “Less than 10 years ago, we restricted data on a need-to-know basis. Events of Sept. 11 challenged that premise. We are learning by sharing information and learning a lot. Time, distance and nationality means nothing to this new generation. For the space industry, a leading cause of failure is the inability at the adapt. In this economic environment, we need to be open to new technologies. The shifting world landscape forces us to look at new partnerships. We are finding ways to do more with less,” she said.
    Hayes believes more collaborative efforts could help international players have more of an impact in the U.S. market. “We are evolving from our need to know mentality to a more sharing mentality. I think there is a serious chance that international players can break into the U.S. market and do more business there. One of the big pushes we are getting in the United States, is a change in ITAR restrictions. There are some members of Congress who are very supportive of making changes here,” she said.

Space Situational Awareness
Creating a global Space Situational Awareness (SSA) system, or system of systems, has become such a key issue on a number of levels. This could be a key focus on European space policy in coming years. It was a topic touched on by a number of speakers. Most agreed that creating a framework for SSA was an absolutely critical issue.
    “We have to establish and maintain SSA. There is need for international and transatlantic co-operation in this area. The Luftwaffe (German Air Force) wants to explore co-operation in this area. We have just done a study on SSA. However, no European nation can afford an SSA system. There is an European Space Agency (ESA) preparatory program in this area. The EU would provide the best forum to setting up a SSA system,” noted Brigadier General Martin Richard Schelleis, assistant chief of staff for concepts and operations, Air Staff Division III, Federal Ministry of Defense, Germany.
    Space debris is another factor which highlights the need for space situational awareness, according to several speakers at the event. The collision earlier this year between a defunct Russian satellite and an Iridium satellite could potentially have a significant impact on military space operations.
    “We need to increase the amount of surveillance activities. We need to be able to calculate potential collisions in the future. We need worldwide support for this. We will begin an outreach program in the next few months to reach commercial and international players on this. The recent collision between Iridium and the Kosmos satellite shows we need more information. The ability to track ongoing operations in space is essential for security. We are working to foster collaborative efforts of international players. There are 19,000 objects floating around in space,” said Helms.
    “The events of the last two years have been a wake-up call. The Iridium/Kosmos situation has sparked a lot of concern,” said Brig. Gen. John Hyten, director of requirements for U.S. Air Force Space Command.
    Lt. Col. Tom Single from the NATO Joint Air Power Competence Center said that assuring the space domain and managing space debris are both serious concerns for NATO. "If it is a national security issue, it is a NATO issue. There is no vacuum cleaner for space. We are concerned with space traffic management,” said Single.
    Helms said space debris provides a greater risk as time goes on. “We want to avoid the generation of more space debris. That points to a better understanding of the environment at large. We cannot do a full complete analysis of every object in space. No one nation has that one capability. Commercial entities, international partners, are all a part of this. We are focused on information sharing,” she said.
    Joseph Rouge, director of the U.S. National Security Space Office at the Pentagon was critical of the Chinese ASAT test, which he believes has created debris that will last thousands of years. “When we did our ASAT tests (in the 1980s), all the debris created was only around for 15 years. When China did the ASAT test (in 2007), their debris will be around 3,000-4,000 years,” he said.
    A number of speakers at the show highlighted the importance of space assets not just in a military arena, but also in terms of their influence in powering global economies. Rouge said there was still a lack of awareness of the overall impact of space assets in society. “I am not sure the public has any idea on our dependency on space systems. Space is now a central viewpoint. In the United States alone, farmers save $10 or $12 million a day just on how they use water through GPS. We are more dependent than ever on these systems. However, they are now more of an Achilles heel as a result. People can now try and make a dent in these systems,” he said.
    Securing them becomes an even more important issue, as they potentially become an ever more attractive target for terrorists, as their importance to societies increases. “We now have vulnerabilities in space. For example, pirates can now put our satellites at a risk. Protecting satcoms links could be an issue,” said Single.