Purposeful Development of the Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance for Space Cadre
Abstract
The Air Force recognizes three domainsair, space, and cyberspace. Of these domains, a war in space is the least likely and certainly the least desired for two reasons. First, the Outer Space Treaty of 1967, signed and ratified by 103 countries, including the United States, acknowledges the common interest of using outer space for peaceful purposes. Those states that agreed to the treaty forbade placing weapons in orbit around the earth and held liable the state whose space launch caused damage to another states property on the earth or in air, space, or outer space. Second, military commanders enjoy virtually uninhibited, uninterrupted access to space, leaving the war fighter to believe that space capabilities will always be available. For these reasons, an attack on US space assets seems an unlikely scenario. However, the threat to space has changed since 1967. Enhanced and readily available counterspace capabilities threaten the survivability of military space systems. Despite this reality, threats to space are not treated with the same level of severity as those to the air and cyberspace domains. The Commission to Assess United States National Security Space Management and Organization (also known as the Space Commission), chaired by former secretary of defense Donald H. Rumsfeld, published a report on 11 January 2001 asserting that the U.S. is more dependent on space than any other nation. Yet, the threat to the U.S. and its allies in and from space does not command the attention it merits from the departments and agencies of the U.S. government charged with national security responsibilities.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jul 13, 2016
- Accession Number
- AD1003668
Entities
People
- Mitchell R. Overton
Organizations
- Air Force Research Laboratory