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  • Military Uses for Space

    Military Uses for Space

    Major General Thomas C. Brandt

    IF the media is the measure, there is a growing perception that a major initiative is under way directed toward the militarization of space. But what is meant by militarization of space? The term as used these days is clearly pejorative. What is often overlooked is that the military has been involved in the medium of space since the end of World War II and has played an important role not only for military but also for many of the civil activities that have occurred in space during the last four decades. The current publicity associated with the military use of space comes from the increasingly important role, and consequent higher visibility, that satellites play in enhancing the national security of the United States, our allies, and the Soviet Union.

    What is the military space role? Let's briefly examine some of the past military space-related activities. Few would argue that current space capabilities evolved rapidly because of the pioneering work of men who demonstrated revolutionary foresight. Consider two: a Russian, Konstantin E. Tsiolkovsky, and an American, Dr. Robert H. Goddard. While Tsiolkovsky never built a rocket, he developed many of the theories for artificial satellites, liquid rocket engines, and manned space flight. Dr. Goddard subsequently built the world's first liquid rocket, developed operational guidance and control systems, and performed much of the early work that took theoretical ideas and turned them into practical engineering solutions.

    While the achievements of these two brilliant civilians went largely unnoticed by most of the world, a number of Germans of the late 1930s recognized the military potential of what they had done. Beginning then and throughout World War II, German scientists, under the leadership of Dr. Wernher Von Braun, developed the A-4 rocket, which later became known as the V-2. The A-4 provided a major breakthrough in the design of space boosters.

    On the evening of 3 October 1942, the first V-2 was launched successfully at Peenemüende. The project director, Major General Walter Dornberger, called his chief assistants together and presented one of the first policy statements on the use of space for military as well as civil purposes:

    The following points may be deemed of decisive significance in the history of technology: we have invaded space with our rocket and for the first time we have used space as a bridge between two points on earth; we have proved rocket propulsion practical for space travel. To land, sea, and air may now be added infinite empty space as an area of future intercontinental traffic, thereby acquiring political importance. This third day of October 1942, is the first of a new era of transportation––that of space travel. So long as the war lasts, our most urgent task can only be the rapid perfection of the rocket as a weapon. The development of possibilities we cannot yet envisage will be a peacetime task. Then the first thing will be to find a safe means of landing after the journey through space.1

    By the close of World War II, it was clear that rocket technology had significant military potential. In the final days of that war, both the United States and the Soviet Union were eager to capture the engineers and hardware of Hitler's rocket program. Dr. Von Braun, General Dornberger, and many other key scientists and engineers who had assembled at Peenemüende were able to get to the American lines and surrender. These rocket experts went on to work for the U.S. Army and later became the nucleus of America's civil space program when the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was formed in 1958.

    During the late 1940s and early 1950s, the United States had a small missile and space R&D program; primary emphasis was on further development of air power and nuclear weapons. Although Von Braun predicted that his Army team could successfully launch a rocket that could place a satellite in orbit by late 1955, President Dwight D. Eisenhower opposed the endeavor because he believed that using military hardware for any space activity violated his "space-for-peace" policy.

    On 4 October 1957, the Soviet Union stunned the world with the successful launch of the Sputnik I satellite. This remarkable event signaled the beginning of a new era as man stretched his reach into space. Access to this new medium was to have profound effects on national security, equal in impact to the introduction of aircraft earlier in the century.

    The United States answered the Soviet challenge three months later with the successful launch of Explorer I, which was placed in orbit on 31 January 1958. Explorer I was launched on a Jupiter C booster that was designed, developed, and launched by the U.S. Army.

    Then, at 6:02 P.M. EST on 18 December 1958, Atlas 10-B lifted off its launch pad at Cape Canaveral, Florida, for what all but eighty-eight people believed was a routine research and development test of our new intercontinental ballistic missile. Several minutes into a normal ballistic trajectory, it "veered off course" and would not respond to corrective commands. A short time later, a startled world discovered the Atlas's true mission from President Eisenhower, but they did not read it in the newspaper. His message came from space and was in the form of a Christmas message to the world, which said:

    This is the President of the United States speaking. Through the marvels of scientific advance, my voice is coming to you from a satellite circling in outer space. My message is a simple one. Through this unique means, I convey to you and to all mankind America's wish for peace on earth and good will toward men everywhere.2

    This payload, Project SCORE (signal communications by orbiting relay equipment), developed by the Department of Defense's Advanced Research Projects Agency, was the first military satellite launched by the United States. During the thirteen days that SCORE operated, it demonstrated reliable around-the-world transmission of military teletype communications. This fledgling start led the way for space systems that today are the backbone of civil and military communications.

    The 1960s saw a continuation of the U.S. policy of emphasizing the peaceful uses of space. President John F. Kennedy challenged the nation to place a man on the surface of the moon and return him safely before the end of that decade. While viewed as a nonmilitary venture, the military was very much a part of the NASA effort. The Mercury and Gemini programs used converted Atlas and Titan ICBMs. The first group of astronauts were military test pilots. Military personnel worked closely with their NASA counterparts on NASA's launch pads and control centers.

    This close relationship between the United States military and NASA continued with the development of the space shuttle. The decision to develop a reusable launch vehicle was based on the assumption that a national system could be established to satisfy both civil and military requirements. It was decided that NASA would develop the space transportation system and Eastern Shuttle Launch Site, while DOD would develop a new higher-energy upper stage and the Western Shuttle Launch Site. This division of responsibilities is working well. In October 1985, the West Coast Shuttle Launch Facility at Vandenberg AFB, California, was activated to support launch operations.

    During the 1960s, the military was developing space systems that today enhance our warfighting capabilities significantly. Experimental satellites evolved into operational systems in such functional areas as communications, weather, mapping and geodesy, navigation, and surveillance. These space systems were developed because they were the most cost-effective way of performing a national security function and in some cases offered the only way of performing that function.

    It is interesting to note that the two superpowers envisaged the military potential of space in sharply contrasting ways. U.S. planners generally viewed space as a sanctuary unsullied by military interactions and as offering a means of communicating and transporting items from one point on earth to another. The Soviets, in contrast, viewed (and continue to view) space as a fundamental strategic operating medium, one providing unparalleled opportunities and fulcrums for applying national power to achieve permanent advantage. They see space as geopolitical high ground.

    The Soviet space program is a dynamic and expanding effort, resulting in approximately 100 launches per year. Some 90 percent of these launches are exclusively military or joint military/civilian missions. The annual Soviet payload weight placed in orbit is even more impressive--660,000 pounds--ten times that of the United States. Soviet military and military-related space programs include meteorological, communications, navigational, reconnaissance, surveillance, targeting, and extended manned missions. Furthermore, with the development and employment of an orbital ASAT weapon more than a decade ago, the Soviet Union clearly signaled its recognition of space as an arena for weapons.

    The Soviets have a formidable inventory of space launch vehicles. Of greatest interest is their development of a new generation of space boosters. These boosters include a Titan-class expendable booster and a Saturn V-class heavy-lift launch system that will probably be used to launch the Soviet version of the space shuttle and other heavy payloads.

    The likely mission for these new heavy-lift launch systems is to launch and support a large manned space station by the 1990s. Such a space station could weigh more than 200,000 pounds and be capable of supporting a large crew for extended periods without replenishment. This objective would be consistent with the increasingly complex nature of current Soviet manned space missions, which constitute the single most extensive element of the Soviet space program. Since 1971, the Soviets have placed seven space stations in orbit. In 1977, the Soviets launched Salyut 6, which was equipped with a second docking collar to accommodate the unmanned Progress cargo vehicle and the Soyuz cosmonaut ferry. These features provide the Soviets with the capability to resupply and exchange personnel on their Salyut space stations. On three occasions, the Soviets have conducted manned missions lasting as long as six months. With the completion of the 237-day mission on board Salyut 7 in 1984, the Soviets set a new space endurance record.

    While the Soviets did not take advantage of geostationary communication satellites as early as Western nations did, recent filings for communication satellite placement and frequencies indicate their intentions to do so. The Soviets have also embarked on an ambitious expansion of their communication satellite program, which will add immeasurably to their global command, control, and communications capability. During the next ten years, the Soviets should develop and deploy an even more advanced series of communication satellites, some of which might relay transmissions from manned orbital command and control platforms to ground, sea, and air elements.

    The Soviet military space program also reflects an ever-increasing use of space for worldwide surveillance and attack warning. Using satellites that include an ICBM launch detection system and an ocean surveillance system, the Soviets have a number of U.S. and allied military forces under surveillance. Soviet efforts in the surveillance field are expected to lead to a multisatellite detection, surveillance, and attack warning system against ballistic missiles and possibly bombers also.

    The Soviets have also steadily increased their space photographic and electronic reconnaissance effort since the early 1960s. Each year, more than fifty of these satellites are launched to provide continuous support to military forces. The several different satellite systems in use provide target location, target identification and characterization, order of battle, force monitoring, crisis monitoring and situation assessment, geodetic information for improving the accuracy of ICBM targeting, and mapping for military forces.

    Clearly, the Soviets have grasped the military advantages that will accrue to the nation which is able to gain and maintain control over space. They are the only nation in the world with a dedicated ASAT weapon designed to destroy low-orbiting satellites. They are conducting a very large directed-energy research program, which, we believe, may result in the development and deployment of a space-based laser system. We estimate that the Soviets could launch the first prototype of a space-based laser ASAT during the late-1980s. An operational system capable of attacking other satellites within a range of a few thousand kilometers might be possible in the 1990s.

    The Soviets also maintain the world's only operational ABM system, which is designed to protect Moscow. They have an improving potential for large-scale deployment of modernized ABM defenses well beyond, the 100-launcher ABM Treaty limitation. Widespread ABM deployment to protect important target areas in the Soviet Union could be accomplished in the next ten years. The Soviets have developed a rapid deployable ABM system that could be operational in months rather than years. The new, large phased-array radars under construction in the Soviet Union, along with the Hen House, Dog House, Cat House, and possibly the Pushkino radars, appear to be designed to provide support for such a widespread ABM defense system. The Soviets seem to have placed themselves in a position to field a nationwide ABM system rapidly should they decide to do so.

    Today's U.S. space systems are used predominantly to provide communications, early warning, navigation, and weather support to our land, sea, and air forces.

    Currently more than two-thirds of our long-distance military communications are sent via satellites. Military space communications systems are designed to ensure dependable and timely command, control, and communications functions on a global basis. The two systems carrying most of the workload are the Fleet Satellite Communications (FLTSATCOM) and the Defense Satellite Communications System (DSCS). By the early 1990s, the MILSTAR communications satellite will become operational and advances will be made to DSCS that will significantly improve the ability of the National Command Authority to communicate with strategic and tactical forces under all wartime conditions.

    Early-warning and surveillance satellites monitor ballistic missile launches and detect nuclear detonations on a global basis. Early-warning satellites provide the first indication that the United States or our allies are under ballistic missile attack. A reliable, enduring, and survivable early-warning system is our first line of defense and a vital element of deterrence. Consequently, we are increasing our efforts to enhance the survivability of these systems by enhancing both the ground and space elements. Nuclear detonation sensors not only monitor our potential adversary's compliance with test ban agreements but also would provide our force planners with vital information on surviving friendly resources and enemy target destruction in time of war.

    We also use space systems to provide our forces with precise navigation data. Today, we are in the process of deploying the NAVSTAR Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) system, which will provide users in all services with three-dimensional position and timing information on a twenty-four-hour global basis under all types of weather and visibility conditions. GPS precision navigational data will increase the probability of damage to enemy targets and enhance our flexibility under a strained combat logistics environmental by enabling the delivery of iron bombs with an accuracy approaching that of smart weapons. GPS will allow low-level ingress/egress for flexible routing, as well as totally passive operations for increased survivability.

    The GPS will also provide accurate navigational data to the civil community––a prime example of the overlap of benefits that often occurs between the civil and military uses of space. In so doing, it serves as a significant reminder that all U.S. space systems, whether military or civil, contribute to our national interests by supporting policies and activities that are important to our society.

    The Defense Meteorological Support Program (DMSP) provides accurate and timely weather data that is vital to successful military operations. The DMSP is DOD's single most important source of weather data. Efforts are under way to harden the DMSP spacecraft and sensors against possible laser attacks and to improve the hardness of the DMSP ground operations center.

    Because of the importance of space systems to our nation's defense, it is necessary that we protect these systems from enemy threats, while denying adversaries the use of their space systems during hostilities. It is clear that the potential for space to become a hostile environment for both the United States and Soviet Union is increasing for two reasons: space systems are becoming increasingly important in support of military forces, and technology that makes space conflict possible is maturing.

    To deter threats to our space systems and, within limits imposed by international law, to counter certain satellites that provide direct targeting support for hostile military forces, we are continuing the development of an ASAT system. Unlike the existing and often tested Soviet system, which is a ground-launched co-orbital intercept satellite, the U.S. ASAT is a miniature vehicle on a two-stage SRAM/ ALTAIR booster carried aloft and launched from a specially modified F-15 aircraft. This ASAT system will correct the basic imbalance between U.S. and Soviet capabilities.

    DOD is also involved with launch and recovery, orbital transfer, and on-orbit control of space assets. During the 1980s, major improvements are being made to improve our capabilities to launch and control military satellites. By the end of the decade, most DOD satellites will have completed their transition from expendable launch vehicles to the space shuttle. However, DOD is concerned about relying totally on a single launch system. Considering the importance of space systems to our national security, DOD will develop and procure ten new expendable launch vehicles through the early 1990s to complement the shuttle.

    To enable us to place even heavier payloads in high-altitude orbits, we are working with NASA to develop a more capable upper stage, based on the Centaur cryogenic stage used since the early 1960s, which will be available for shuttle use by 1986.

    Once satellites are on orbit, DOD operates a worldwide ground station network under the control of the USAF Satellite Control Facility in Sunnyvale, California. To enhance the command and control of space assets during the 1980s, the Consolidated Space Operations Center (CSOC) is being built in Colorado. Once operational, the CSOC will share the Satellite Control Facility workload as well as provide a centralized, secure, and more survivable facility for planning and conducting DOD space missions.

    Looking out ten years or so can be very stimulating. It can also be risky for your neck as you speculate on the future. Indeed, it is difficult to predict what will happen during the next hour. I am reminded of General John Sedgwick's last words just before he was killed at the Battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse, when he said, "Don't worry, men; they couldn't hit an elephant at this distance."

    Aren't we today often just as shortsighted as General Sedgwick? Space-based systems will expand beyond those of today. The Soviets have already experimented with weapons in space, testing their fractional and multiple orbital bombardment systems two decades ago.

    In March 1983, President Reagan offered the hope of making the world safe from the threat of nuclear ballistic missiles. While the President did not specifically state that his antiballistic missile (ABM) defense system would be space-based, many of the potential solutions rely heavily on space-based defensive weapons. Both Time and Newsweek quickly had cover stories that referred to the President's initiative as "Star Wars." I have little doubt that any comprehensive ABM system will need some type of space-based support platforms to attack incoming targets.

    Regardless of the solution, years of research will be required before a decision can be made concerning the feasibility of a comprehensive ballistic missile defense. As we pursue ballistic missile defense research, there inevitably will be many ideas and advocates for deploying weapons in space.

    I am very optimistic that the future use of space for military operations will continue to take on added significance in enhancing the security of the United States and our allies. History has often been changed by the nation that first grasped the advantages offered by developing the military potential of the newest medium. Certainly, the Soviets have recognized the value of space systems in support of military operations. The United States cannot and will not ignore the value of the military use of space and allow Soviet domination of the "ultimate high ground."

    We must have the foresight to recognize emerging technologies and their potential military applications, and we must be prepared to seize these opportunities when it is our national interest to do so. Military requirements and the technology to satisfy those requirements are changing continuously, and we must be perceptive enough to recognize those changes. Although he was speaking about the military potential of air power, Giulio Douhet summed it up best when he said, "Victory smiles upon those who anticipate the changes in the character of war, not upon those who wait to adapt themselves after changes occur."

    Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

    Author's note: I acknowledge the assistance of Lieutenant Colonel Thaddeus W. Shore in the preparation of this article.

    Notes:

    1. Walter Dornberger, V-2 (New York: Viking Press, 1954).

    2. Kenneth Gatland, The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Space Technology: A Comprehensive History of Space Exploration (New York: Harmony Books, 1981).
    MILITARY USES FOR SPACE
    "Every man has his weakness. Mine was always just cigarettes."

  • #2
    Isn't there some treaty banning the use of space for military applications?

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    • #3
      Originally posted by gamercube View Post
      Isn't there some treaty banning the use of space for military applications?
      No. The treaty is for not placing any nuclear bombs in the space.
      A grain of wheat eclipsed the sun of Adam !!

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      • #4
        It appears to be difficult to hide an aircraft carrier and its attendant battle group from orbital platforms.

        American naval supremacy might be contested from orbit on the relatively cheap viz. PACCOM's budget.

        Methinks this thought has probably crossed the mind of more than one competitor with SLV aspirations/capability.

        Like the days of yore, killing from the high ground is well known to be advantageous.
        Pharoh was pimp but now he is dead. What are you going to do today?

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        • #5
          Of help?

          I refer you chaps to my (much?) earlier bibliography:)

          To whit, are we discussing orbital assets or exo-atmospheric deployments?

          I assume ballistic considerations are not part of this:)
          Where's the bloody gin? An army marches on its liver, not its ruddy stomach.

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          • #6
            Space can be legally used for

            Recon, weather, ABM, anti-sat,communications, navigation, attack warning, bomb guidence, cyber attacks ect all well established or in the case of ABM and anti-satsupported by decades of development.

            These capabilites allow the US to use a form of passive power projection. The simple fact an enemy knows the US can see them, scramble there communciations and use satalite guided bombs is a very real threat that other nations must consider.

            Recent initives by the Pentagon also envision adding a non-nuclear strike capability to this (tungsten rod armed ICBM's) and other intives offer the potential of making space an actual battlefeild. US and Chinese initives to go to the moon and then (US) on to mars also breathe fresh life into the concept of eventual manned combat in the starry void.

            Swiftsword,

            Once the US airborne ABM laser is operational it will be a very simple job to fit a modified version to a carrier (nuke power source) capable of frying anyones prying eyes.

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            • #7
              There is an yawn-worthy article in 3rd Oct JDW for those ammused by tedium. Pp. 40
              Where's the bloody gin? An army marches on its liver, not its ruddy stomach.

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