A transcript of the seminar hosted by the Secure World Foundation and the Arms Control Association last week is now available. The seminar analyzed President Obama’s new National Space Policy.
Recent rumors were that the President’s new national space policy would be released in June, but Air Force Secretary Michael Donley used wording yesterday that indicates it is not that imminent. In response to a question at a National Defense University Foundation breakfast yesterday about when it would be released, he answered in rapid succession “this summer,” “soon,” and “in the next couple of weeks.”
As to what the major differences will be compared with the 2006 Bush Administration policy, Secretary Donley said that the new document would “recognize the changes” in the space “domain” over the last 10-20 years. Using what has become familiar wording in the national security space community, he said that space has become “congested” and “in some cases, contested” and emphasized the need for better space situation awareness and collaboration with industry and allies. He added that the new policy will “reinforce our collective understanding” of the increased economic and strategic importance of space.
In the introduction to his National Security Strategy released last week, President Obama once again invoked his childhood fascination with the space program, mentioning his “awe at watching a space capsule pulled out of the Pacific” while espousing that “America’s greatest asset is its people.” He added that “Our long-term security will come not from our ability to instill fear in other peoples, but through our capacity to speak to their hopes.”
Though brief references to space capabilities are scattered throughout the report, the most extensive treatment is in the section on “Prosperity” where it is the fifth of five elements under “Enhance Science, Technology and Innovation.” It asserts that the United States will “pursue activities consistent with the inherent right of self defense,” but the focus is international cooperation and promoting “security and stability in space.” It also emphasizes the need for investing in space technologies and “the people and industrial base that develops them.” The full text of that paragraph (p. 31) is as follows:
“Leverage and Grow our Space Capabilities: For over 50 years, our space community has been a catalyst for innovation and a hallmark of U.S. technological leadership. Our space capabilities underpin global commerce and scientific advancements and bolster our national security strengths and those of our allies and partners. To promote security and stability in space, we will pursue activities consistent with the inherent right of self-defense, deepen cooperation with allies and friends, and work with all nations toward the responsible and peaceful use of space. To maintain the advantages afforded to the United States by space, we must also take several actions. We must continue to encourage cutting-edge space technology by investing in the people and industrial base that develops them. We will invest in the research and development of next-generation space technologies and capabilities that benefit our commercial, civil, scientific exploration, and national security communities, in order to maintain the viability of space for future generations. And we will promote a unified effort to strengthen our space industrial base and work with universities to encourage students to pursue space-related careers.”
As its last action before the Memorial Day recess, the House passed the FY2011 National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 5136) this afternoon. Across Capitol Hill, the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) reported out its version of the legislation.
The vote on House passage of H.R. 5136 was 229-186. The bill authorizes $567 billion for Department of Defense (DOD) and Department of Energy (DOE) national security programs. The bill is under a veto threat because it continues funding for a second engine for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates says the second engine is not needed. He tried to kill it last year, but failed. The bill also has several other contentious provisions, including repealing the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. The latter includes the caveat, however, that repeal will not occur until the Pentagon completes its review of the issue and certifies that the policy change would not harm military readiness or unit cohesion.
Meanwhile, SASC issued a 30-page press release summarizing its major decisions on its version of the authorization bill. Regarding space activities, it lists the following actions:
Requires the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), to develop a plan to sustain the liquid rocket motor industrial base.
Directs the Secretary of Defense to implement recommendations to sustain the solid rocket motor industrial base.
Authorizes an additional $30 million for sensor integration and ensures nuclear detection sensors are manifested on space platforms.
Provides $110 million for the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System and directs DOD to establish the new program for weather satellites as soon as possible to avoid any gaps in coverage.
Provides $50 million for new military satellite communications technology development for future applications.
Provides $25 million for new military infrared satellite technology development for future applications.
Adds $15 million for operations to support utilization of the Spaced-based Infrared Satellite Highly Elliptical Orbit sensor and for the ground control stations.
Adds $20 million for Operationally Responsive Space to support core activities.
Adds $15 million to the space test program for additional small launch capacity.
Cuts $30 million from the Spaced-Based Space Surveillance program due to program delays.
Expresses the sense of the Senate that programmatic actions of NASA may have impact on DOD space and missile programs and directs the Secretary of Defense to study and report on any impact.
Dan Baker, Director of the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado, Boulder, has an interesting op-ed in the New York Times this morning. He wants the government to make public data collected by the Global Positioning System (GPS) as it monitors the Earth looking for signs of nuclear detonations. He says the “mounds of environmental data” collected by GPS’ Nuclear Detonation Detection System could help in our understanding of global warming, but it is not made available to scientists because of a bureaucracy that assumes that “because some of the data might be sensitive, all of it must be protected.”
The House Armed Services Committee has reported out the FY2011 National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 5136). The report, H. Rept. 111-491, is available via the committee’s website or from the Government Printing Office. The House Rules Committee will take up the bill tomorrow (Wednesday) at 1:00 pm. Space program-related actions include the following:
We’ve updated our fact sheet on Major Space-Related Legislation in the 111th Congress. You can find it on our left menu under “Our Fact Sheets” or by clicking here. The update reflects HASC action on the FY2011 DOD authorization bill, Senate Judiciary Committee action on a bill to create a new section of the U.S. Code for space laws, and final passage (at last!) of the new version of the Satellite Home Viewer Act. The new Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act is awaiting signature by the President.
As the House prepares to debate its version of the DOD authorization bill this week, the Senate Armed Services Committee is marking up its version. No action yet on a NASA authorization bill or any of the appropriations bills. The latter, in theory at least, must await passage of a joint budget resolution between the House and Senate to set the amount of money each of the subcommittees may spend. The most recent talk in the Senate is hope that its version of the budget resolution will pass by the July 4 recess. The House does not seem to be even that close. Under the 1974 Congressional Budget Act, the budget resolution is supposed to be completed by April 15 of any given year.
As for a NASA authorization bill, House Science and Technology Committee chairman Bart Gordon (D-TN) assured Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) at the committee’s hearing this morning that it would not be the last hearing before an authorization bill is brought before that committee. What timetable Chairman Gordon currently has in mind wasn’t stated. The status of a Senate version of the bill similarly is unclear.
Not sure of the difference between an authorization and an appropriation? See our “What’s A Markup ” Fact Sheet, always at your fingertips on our left menu under “Our Fact Sheets.”
A fact sheet from the Secure World Foundation (SWF) analyzes the likely and less-likely missions of the Air Force’s X-37B spacecraft launched amidst great secrecy last month. Secrecy invites speculation, and some suggest that it might be a satellite inspector or a platform for weapons aimed at Earth. SWF’s Brian Weeden concludes that while it has the capability to perform inspections, “it is unlikely to perform these functions given its limited payload and altitude range.” He completely dismisses the possibility that it could be a space weapon platform, rating that likelihood as “zero.”
What is it doing? Weeden thinks its main purpose is testing reusable space launch vehicle technologies, and sensor technologies and satellite hardware for remote sensing of the Earth. That likelihood is rated high. In the “medium” category is the possibility that it could be a deployment platform for Operationally Responsive Space (ORS) satellites. The ORS concept is to enable reconstitution of critical satellite capabilities if one or more satellites unexpectedly cease functioning or to launch new satellites to respond to a time-critical need.
Meanwhile, amateur space watchers tracking the satellite using visual observations determined that it has a ground track repeat pattern similar to imaging reconnaissance satellites according to the New York Times. The newspaper quotes Canadian Ted Molczan, a well known member of an international network of amateur satellite visual observers, as saying that the satellite was observed by team members in Canada and South Africa.
The Subcommittee on Strategic Forces of the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) cut $182 million from the $9.9 billion FY2011 request for unclassified national security space programs today. A committee press release lists the following additions and reductions:
The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) released a draft report today and is seeking input from the space community before finalizing its findings and recommendations. “National Security and the Commercial Space Sector” looks at the reliance of the national security space sector on commercial satellites and asks whether U.S. space policy should explicitly include commercial satellites in its “assured access to space” provisions.
This is the first time CSIS has issued a draft report soliciting input from the outside community according to CSIS President John Hamre. CSIS is on a tight schedule, though. Comments are needed in May (which begins tomorrow) so the final report can be released in June. For instructions on how to submit questions or comments, visit CSIS’s website.