[Satellite TODAY Insider 01-21-11] U.S. President Barack Obama’s National Security Space Strategy, scheduled for public release over the next few weeks, is coming under criticism from the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), which said that the plan is unlikely to address “broader ways to approach space security and sustainability issues,” according to a UCS statement released Jan. 20.
    The National Security Space Strategy will outline out how the U.S. Department of Defense and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence will carry out the National Space Policy, which was issued last June.
    In a statement, UCS Senior Global Security Scientist Laura Grego said that while the strategy emphasizes certain steps to strengthen space security and foster international cooperation, it likely will fall short of the Union’s expectations.
    “For example, the document is unlikely to recommend that the United States take the lead on space diplomacy. Diplomatic engagement could help relieve suspicions among countries, reduce incentives for building anti-satellite systems and other space weapons by establishing negotiated limits, and avert space disputes. The strategy document is likely to encourage bilateral discussions, confidence building and transparency measures, which is a good start. But strong U.S. leadership could reap even greater rewards,” she said.
    The UCS also said that the National Security Space Strategy, like the National Space Policy, would not discuss arms and import/export control agreements. “Well-crafted arms control proposals could lower the risk of arms races or conflicts in space or on the ground and protect the space environment from the harmful debris caused when countries deliberately destroy satellites,” said Greco. “Agreed-upon limits on weapons in space and interfering with satellites could strengthen stability and security in space and on the ground, and such limits should be part of the U.S. national security strategy. Unfortunately, the National Space Policy had little to say about this issue, and it is unlikely that the new space strategy will urge the United States to take the lead on it.”

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