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Friday, Jan. 12, 2001

The device is made in Russia and is commercially available worldwide. It works at up to 120 miles, according to the Commission to Assess United States National Security Space Management and Organization, which released a report that culminated more than a year of work.

The commission listed a host of threats to U.S. satellites and space-dependent systems upon which the military and civilian worlds are increasingly reliant, and made a series of recommendations on how the government can reorganize itself to better protect and defend those interests.

"We know from history that every medium – air, land and sea – has seen conflict. Reality indicates that space will be no different," states the report. "Given this virtual certainty, the U.S. must develop the means both to deter and to defend against hostile acts in and from space."

"The U.S. is an attractive candidate for a 'Space Pearl Harbor,' " states the report. "The question is whether the U.S. will be wise enough to act responsibly and soon enough to reduce U.S. space vulnerability. … We are on notice, but we have not noticed."

"The United States is very dependent on space in ways we don't recognize," Adm. David Jeremiah said at a news conference Thursday to introduce the report. "But the U.S. government, particularly the Defense Department and CIA, is not very well arrayed or focused to meet national security space needs for the 21st century."

The panel conducting the study was led by Donald Rumsfeld, President-elect Bush's designee to be defense secretary.

Rumsfeld told the Senate Armed Services Committee Thursday that the vulnerability of satellites would be one of his concerns if he is confirmed for the job.

"We do know that commercial capabilities in this area have for the most part no ability to survive mischief and attacks. We also know that, properly in my view, the U.S. government and military are using more and more commercial capabilities ... for a variety of things," Rumsfeld said.

Roughly 90 percent of the Defense Department's communications use commercial systems, but it has a limited number of nuclear-hardened, jam-resistant satellites if they are needed.

Threats range from attacking ground stations with conventional explosives to jamming signals, using tiny satellites to attack larger ones in orbit, or detonating low-yield nuclear weapons in space to damage space assets with radiation with little threat to human life.

Despite these vulnerabilities, the commission has recommended the military use space even more heavily to transform its operations, especially in intelligence collections. It recommended a series of reforms to streamline budgeting, improve government coordination and speed responsiveness when problems in space arise.

The commission sees space as an emerging area of conflict – not just in attacks on satellites, but also as a political minefield as nations try to regulate space, said Jeremiah.

It recommends promoting government and commercial investment in research and technology so the United States retains its competitive edge over the rest of the world.

It would put the Air Force in charge of "organizing, training and equipping" for space operations. It already spends about 85 percent of the $7 billion allocated by the Pentagon for that purpose every year. However, the commission has warned that the Air Force historically does not treat space operations with the same attention it lavishes on air operations.

If it gets this role, the Air Force "must take steps to create a culture with the service dedicated to developing new space system concepts, doctrine and operational capabilities."

The panel recommended more money for space operations – launch capabilities, new space-based radars, lasers and sensors – but did not say how much.

It also lamented that Congress has six committees with oversight of space programs, creating a potential logjam if the government tries to streamline and rationalize its space budgeting and operations.

It recommended that the defense secretary and director of central intelligence meet regularly to discuss space "policy, objectives and issues" and that the Pentagon elevate its intelligence office from assistant secretary to undersecretary level.

Copyright 2000 by United Press International. All rights reserved.