Upcoming Space Report

The Union of Concerned Scientists just came out with a statement regarding the White House's forthcoming National Security Space Strategy and some possible themes the report could highlight:

The Obama administration is expected to release its National Security Space Strategy sometime in the next few weeks. The document will spell out how the Department of Defense and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence will carry out the president’s National Space Policy, which the administration issued last June.

Space is vital to U.S. national interests. For example, Americans depend on satellites for a broad range of critical civil and military services. The U.S. government, therefore, has a keen interest in maintaining satellite safety and security, protecting the space environment, and ensuring that insecurity in space does not threaten security on the ground.

Experts at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) expect the space strategy document to consider security primarily from a military perspective. It is unlikely that it will address broader ways to approach space security and sustainability issues.

"While the strategy certainly will emphasize steps to strengthen the security and stability of space and foster international cooperation," said Laura Grego, a senior scientist with UCS’s Global Security Program, "it also will likely miss some important opportunities."

For example, the document is unlikely to recommend that the United States take the lead on space diplomacy, she said. 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 and confidence-building and transparency measures, what Grego called "a good start," but strong U.S. leadership could reap even greater rewards, she said. For example, a more robust diplomatic initiative that includes the major spacefaring countries would have the potential to increase cooperation with countries that are not traditional U.S. military allies, and spur other countries to develop realistic proposals that could ensure a safe and sustainable future in space.

The new National Security Space Strategy, like the National Space Policy, will not emphasize the role that arms control agreements could play as part of a larger scheme for keeping space secure. Well-crafted arms control proposals could lower the risk of arms races or conflicts in space or on the ground, Grego said, and protect the space environment from the harmful debris caused when countries deliberately destroy satellites.