US Space Force News

[James1978]

Space Force to implement Santa’s ‘naughty list’ of contractors for under-performance
If contractors are put on the Contractor Responsibility Watch List for failure to meet cost and schedule performance goals, the Space Force has "the ability at that point not to award them any new contracts."

By Theresa Hitchens
April 27, 2023

WASHINGTON — The Department of the Air Force has instituted a number of new oversight tools to ensure against delays and cost overruns in space programs — one of which is the as-yet unused Contractor Responsibility Watch List (CRWL) to put underperforming contractors in the penalty box, according to space acquisition czar Frank Calvelli.

“It’s basically … Santa’s ‘naughty list,’ he told the Potomac Officers Club today.

If contractors are put on the CRWL for failure to meet cost and schedule performance goals, he explained, the Space Force has “the ability at that point not to award them any new contracts.”

One key to using CRWL to get failing programs back on track, Calvelli said, is that vendors are given a clear idea of what they need to do to get back off of the list, including specific programmatic milestones to be met. “That’s sort of a real incentive for folks to actually get their act together,” he said.

While the Space Force’s primary acquisition command, Space Systems Command, was mandated to use the CRWL as an oversight tool in the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act, it did not sign out internal procedures for doing so until March 2022 [PDF]. And to his knowledge, Calvelli said, no contractors yet have been listed despite the fact that a number of space acquisition efforts are behind schedule and over budget.

“As far as I can tell, we haven’t used it quite yet,” Calvelli said.

Calvelli also said he has set up a number new, robust practices to establish performance metrics for acquisition programs and check up to make sure those metrics are being hit — oversight measures that could be used to justify listing a contractor not making the grade.

This new oversight regime, in turn, could be used as the basis for deciding what contractors end up on CRWL.

“As the Space Service Acquisition Executive, I conduct reviews with each of my portfolio leads (Program Executive Officers) every two weeks to discuss the status of programs within their purview. I also hold Quarterly Program Reviews for a deeper program analysis. During these quarterly reviews, the government program managers present the technical, schedule, cost, and staffing status, open risks and issues, upcoming activities, and an overall assessment of program health,” he said in written remarks to the House Armed Services strategic forces subcommittee on Wednesday.

“Based on the data from the quarterlies to date — the latest in February 2023 — we identified a few troubled programs to track more closely. For those programs, I require each selected program to provide a biweekly update on progress against a detailed schedule to get to a healthy status.”

Calvelli is capturing those reviews in an internal “scorecard” that ranks programs’ performance using a “stoplight” concept — with green representing all goals met, yellow representing no serious problems, and red representing failure to meet requirements. As first reported by Breaking Defense, he issued his first such scorecard earlier this month to Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall. (Kendall oversees both the Space Force and the Air Force.)

Rep. Doug Lamborn, R-Colo, who chairs the HASC strategic forces subcommittee, expressed concerns during Wednesday’s hearing that a report to Congress from Calvelli based on the performance scorecard shows little progress on a handful of space acquisition programs that have been long-plagued with problems in reaching fruition.

“We recently received a report from you that identified the five highest and lowest performing major acquisition programs in the Space Force. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like much has changed in this report. The lowest performing programs are all ground systems led by the perennial underperformer, the [GPS Next Generation Operational Control System] or OCX,” he said.

OCX has had a troubled history, to say the least — including a serious Nunn-McCurdy breach back in 2016. It was originally supposed to become operational in the 2011-2012 timeframe. The program suffered yet another delay early this year, which has forced Space Systems Command to rejigger the planned delivery of the software-based system from April to an as-yet undetermined time — potentially before the end of the year.

“It’s been said many times at this point, that it’s now a cliche, but ground systems always seem to be the afterthought when it comes to space acquisitions. Ground systems are the nuts and bolts, the bread and butter that make our exquisite satellite capabilities function. We cannot have one without the other,” Lamborn continued.

Calvelli, in response, largely agreed.

“I recognize that I inherited several troubled programs that are behind schedule and overrun on cost, I am paying close attention to those programs,” he said, noting that one of his nine tenets for improving space acquisition issued last fall is “deliver ground systems before launch.”

Further, Calvelli in a January 24 speech pledged to get OCX and another perennial space acquisition problem child, the the Military GPS User Equipment (MGUe) effort to provide radios capable of receiving the encrypted M-Code signal designed to avoid jamming, delivered by the end of the year.

To that end, Calvelli reassured Lamborn that Space Systems Command is addressing the issues — noting that the congressman would be able to see the forward momentum when he visits the command’s Los Angeles headquarters.

“They’ve done some really great work on some ground systems, that if you can believe that. They’ve done some really outstanding work in terms of where they’re heading with GPS and how that program has progressing,” Calvelli said.

Lamborn and his Democratic counterpart, Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., will travel to Space Systems Command on Monday for briefings.

[James1978]

Somebody makes it make sense.

I get that there are Air National Guard Units with a "space" mission. But what in the hell do the states need a "space" component for?
We don't have a Marine Guard.
And honestly, the Air National Guard was a fluke when they created the USAF. Oh gee, well we have an Army National Guard, and the USAF is coming out of the Army, I guess we'll have an Air National Guard.

Why can't we just create the Space Force Reserve, and offer everyone in a "space" job the opportunity to transfer to it?

National Guard leaders petition Biden, Harris for dedicated Space Force branch
"OMB’s opposition to establishing a SNG and directive to transfer current National Guard space missions to an unestablished 'Space Component' will create a 7–10 year gap in the capabilities Air National Guard Space Units provide today," the 51 Guard adjutant generals argue in a letter to President Joe Biden.

By Theresa Hitchens
May 01, 2023

WASHINGTON — A group of 51 National Guard adjutant generals are asking President Joe Biden to support the creation of a separate Space National Guard (SNG) — urging him to reverse a decision by the Office of Management and Budget that would establish an alternative structure.

OMB “opposes a SNG and recently directed the Department of Defense (DoD) to prepare for the voluntary transfer of National Guard members currently performing space missions to a yet-to-be-established ‘Space Component.’ OMB’s actions are a mistake,” argues the letter [PDF], released today by the National Guard Association of the United States (NGAUS) and addressed directly to Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, who chairs the National Space Council.

The debate about the question of a Space Guard has been fierce since the establishment of the Space Force in 2019. After more than a year of dithering, the Biden administration in 2021 rejected the idea due largely to cost concerns, with OMB finding that creation of a separate Guard branch for space would cost up to $500 million annually and provide no new capabilities. Instead, the Space Force has proposed transferring Air Force Reserve space specialists to a new “hybrid Space Component,” which would include both full-time and part-time Guardians.

Advocates of a dedicated Space National Guard within the National Guard, and on Capitol Hill, have been vociferously fighting back.

For example, the House versions of the 2022 and 2023 defense authorization bills both included support for the SNG, but the language was stripped in the House-Senate conference process both years.

Nonetheless, on Feb. 16, Sens. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Marco Rubio, R-Fla., re-introduced legislation, the Space National Guard Establishment Act, to create an SNG — with eight co-sponsors from both parties. On the House side, Colorado Democrat Rep. Jason Crow and Republican Rep. Doug Lamborn — who chairs the House Armed Services strategic forces subcommittee responsible for overseeing Pentagon space policy and programs — also are planning to reintroduce a Space Guard bill, according to a report in Politico.

For their part, the Guard leaders, representing all 50 states plus the US Virgin Islands, assert that OMB’s financial calculations are simply wrong.

“The National Guard Bureau (NGB) estimates the one-time cost to be $250,000 for heraldry, uniform items, and the transfer of existing manpower and resources from [Air National Guard] Space units to the new SNG. This cost is dwarfed by the estimated one-time cost of over $644M to move all ANG Space missions to the U.S. Space Force (USSF),” the letter says.

Further, they argue that the Space Component plan will harm Space Force readiness.

“OMB’s opposition to establishing a SNG and directive to transfer current National Guard space missions to an unestablished ‘Space Component’ will create a 7–10 year gap in the capabilities Air National Guard Space Units provide today. Our nation cannot afford to hamstring the readiness of its Space Operations in the decisive decade ahead,” the letter states.

[James1978]

Space Force Is Building a Virtual Training Ground for Space Conflict
By Audrey Decker
March 29, 2023

The U.S. Space Force is building a virtual environment to teach its guardians how to fight enemy attempts to thwart its missions in space.

Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman said adversaries are now trying to take away capabilities that the Space Force provides to the U.S. military, such as satellite communications, missile warning, and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance in space.

China has the “capability and demonstrated intent” to conduct counter-space operations and attack U.S. spacecraft, Saltzman said in an interview with Defense One as part of the annual State of Defense series.

China does this in a few ways—jamming satellites, launching missiles to hit satellites, and interfering “on orbit,” Saltzman said. Last year, China used a satellite robotic arm to grab another satellite and pull it out of its orbit.

“The Space Force has been stood up to protect those capabilities, and also protect the joint force from an emerging set of capabilities that the adversary is putting on orbit to threaten and target our joint forces on air, land, and sea,” he said.

Saltzman said when he was first trained to fly satellites, the focus was learning how to operate the satellites safely and efficiently.

“I didn't really train against an adversary that was trying to destroy my satellite or deny its capabilities. That really just wasn't required,” he said.

But now, the Space Force is building a virtual environment for its guardians to practice not only how to operate satellites but also “the tactics that would fight off an adversary’s attempts to try to deny us our missions,” he said.

About $340 million of the service’s $30 billion 2024 spending request is slated for building operational testing and training infrastructure.

The request also funds work on two “critical elements” of Joint All-Domain Command and Control, or JADC2, the Pentagon’s effort to weave every military sensor into a unified network.

Saltzman said their “most crucial” contribution to JADC2 is a space data-transport layer, which the Space Development Agency is putting together, to give the U.S. military the ability to move data globally.

The Space Force is also working on a “C2 element” for its own systems and capabilities, Saltzman said.

“We also have to command and control our capabilities, have situational awareness, be able to make operational decisions on a relevant timeline, and then direct forces in a contested environment. And that space C2 element is also a critical contribution that we're making so that we can be tied into the joint force,” he said.

Saltzman said the force aims to put its C2 building blocks in place and roll out some of this software “in the next two to three years.”

With a budget request heavily focused on research and development—to the tune of 65 percent—Saltzman said he’s focused on threats that will be challenging the Space Force three to five years from now.

“We have the space warfighting analysis center that does modeling and simulation to look at force design efforts that affect those kinds of timeframes, so that we can make sure we're buying the right kinds of capabilities for emerging and future threats and the future environments,” he said.

[James1978]

‘We’re at the End of Our Rope’: Will Space Command Move to Alabama? Senator Wants Answers.
3 May 2023
By Paul Gattis

As the indecision on a permanent home for U.S. Space Command lingers, Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville acknowledged Wednesday that there is not much else the state's congressional members can do.

Redstone Arsenal has emerged through multiple assessments as the best location for Space Command, which is currently in its startup home in Colorado Springs. Yet the decision remains undetermined despite the Air Force announcement more than two years ago that Redstone was the preferred location.

"We're about at the end of our rope here," Tuberville said.

The senator on Wednesday opened his weekly conference call with reporters again calling for the announcement that Redstone will be the permanent home. It came on the heels of a Senate hearing Tuesday when Tuberville questioned Frank Kendall, secretary of the Air Force, who is charged with making the decision on Space Command.

Kendall responded to questions by saying he had no new information to share.

Even as Tuberville has advocated for more than two years for Redstone, he promised Wednesday to remain undaunted as Colorado's congressional delegation continues fighting to hold onto Space Command.

"I fought for the swift relocation of SPACECOM to Huntsville since I came to D.C. more than two years ago," Tuberville said. "I will not give up the fight. The facts are on our side. I know it. President Biden knows it. And the Air Force knows it. And even the sore losers from Colorado know it. Space Command should make its move to Redstone Arsenal official without further delay. It's the right thing for our national security and the future of our operations in space."

That said, there isn't much else to do or say, the senator said. Colleagues in Congress have voiced support for Redstone and Tuberville has made a repeated point of spotlighting that Colorado finished fourth in Space Command assessments with bases in Nebraska and Texas finishing second and third, respectively, behind Redstone Arsenal.

Kendall said in March that "additional analysis" is underway to identify the best site for Space Command.

"I don't know what else they can review," Tuberville said in March. (Redstone is) by far the best place."

Now almost two months later, it appears nothing has changed. Tuberville essentially declared it a victory Wednesday when Kendall acknowledged in testimony on Tuesday that determining a permanent home for Space Command was critical.

"Secretary Kendall confirmed what we knew to be true," Tuberville said Wednesday. "It's important [that] the military moves forward with a permanent location for SPACECOM."

Meanwhile, the status quo remains the status.

"This is an executive branch decision," Tuberville said. "It was made by the [Department of Defense] two years ago by President Trump in his group. But politics turned its ugly face into the way of Space Command and now won't allow it to happen. So hopefully they'll come to the realization that we need Space Command and we need it in the right place.

"It needs to be in Huntsville," the senator added. "The second place would be Nebraska. The third place would be in San Antonio. I hate to tell Colorado, but they didn't even make the top three. So it should be one of those places. It should be in Huntsville."

[jemhouston]

Somebody makes it make sense.

I get that there are Air National Guard Units with a "space" mission. But what in the hell do the states need a "space" component for?
We don't have a Marine Guard.
And honestly, the Air National Guard was a fluke when they created the USAF. Oh gee, well we have an Army National Guard, and the USAF is coming out of the Army, I guess we'll have an Air National Guard.

Why can't we just create the Space Force Reserve, and offer everyone in a "space" job the opportunity to transfer to it?

Money and prestige for the state.

[Nightwatch2]

Just to be clear,

Space Command belongs right where it is - in Colorado Springs!

[Michael]

Just to be clear,

Space Command belongs right where it is - in Colorado Springs!

Why?

Serious question, why is the one site better than the other?

[Nightwatch2]

Just to be clear,

Space Command belongs right where it is - in Colorado Springs!

Why?

Serious question, why is the one site better than the other?

The cost to move it is one of the biggest reasons. The operational units are also already centralized here.

The unanimous recommendation by the military was to keep it in C/S. Only a deliberately biased and B.S. study recommended Huntsville.

This is a long saga that I did have a small part in. I warned our Congresscritter way back when Space Force was first proposed that the Alabama delegation was trying to pull a fast one. Sure enough…

This is one of the few things that every elected official in Colorado has agreed upon. I ran a resolution from the city and then in the House another was run with multiple letters that I’ve signed along with every other.

One of the few things that I disagreed with President Trump about. His decision was blatantly about political retribution against Colorado.

[jemhouston]

On a semi related note, Huntsville has been trying to grab NASA jobs from JSC since before Challenger.

[DaveAAA]

Just to be clear,

Space Command belongs right where it is - in Colorado Springs!

Why?

Serious question, why is the one site better than the other?

The cost to move it is one of the biggest reasons. The operational units are also already centralized here.

The unanimous recommendation by the military was to keep it in C/S. Only a deliberately biased and B.S. study recommended Huntsville.

This is a long saga that I did have a small part in. I warned our Congresscritter way back when Space Force was first proposed that the Alabama delegation was trying to pull a fast one. Sure enough…

This is one of the few things that every elected official in Colorado has agreed upon. I ran a resolution from the city and then in the House another was run with multiple letters that I’ve signed along with every other.

One of the few things that I disagreed with President Trump about. His decision was blatantly about political retribution against Colorado.

Besides, that's where the Stargate is located.

[Nightwatch2]

Why?

Serious question, why is the one site better than the other?

The cost to move it is one of the biggest reasons. The operational units are also already centralized here.

The unanimous recommendation by the military was to keep it in C/S. Only a deliberately biased and B.S. study recommended Huntsville.

This is a long saga that I did have a small part in. I warned our Congresscritter way back when Space Force was first proposed that the Alabama delegation was trying to pull a fast one. Sure enough…

This is one of the few things that every elected official in Colorado has agreed upon. I ran a resolution from the city and then in the House another was run with multiple letters that I’ve signed along with every other.

One of the few things that I disagreed with President Trump about. His decision was blatantly about political retribution against Colorado.

Besides, that's where the Stargate is located.

A powerful and compelling argument!!

[Rocket J Squrriel]

On a semi related note, Huntsville has been trying to grab NASA jobs from JSC since before Challenger.

And I think ringleader was former senator Dick Shelby. SLS could be called the Shelby Launch System.

[James1978]

Astronaut Buzz Aldrin named honorary brigadier general, member of Space Force
by Julia Shapero - May 6, 2023

Former astronaut Buzz Aldrin was named an honorary brigadier general in the U.S. Air Force and made an honorary member of the U.S. Space Force on Friday, more than 50 years after he first set foot on the moon.

“Without the courage and dedication of Aldrin, we may never have been afforded the luxury of leading the lifestyle we enjoy today,” Lt. Gen. Michael A. Guetlein said at the promotion ceremony in El Segundo, Calif., according to a Space Force press release.

“Over the past 54 years since stepping foot on the moon’s surface, he has been an inspiration to a nation, and tireless advocate for space exploration,” Geutlein added.

Aldrin was also given the chance to be an honorary Space Force Guardian — the term for Space Force members coined first by former Vice President Mike Pence.

“He has lived a life epitomizing the Space Force Guardian values of character, connection, commitment, and courage,” Geutlein said.

“I will argue that Aldrin was truly one of our first Guardian’s willing to protect and defend this nation with all that we hold dear,” he continued. “He is one of the first Guardians because he has lived a life which epitomizes the very values we strive to live by today.”

Aldrin, 93, was the second person to walk on the moon in 1969 after his fellow Apollo 11 member Neil Armstrong.

“It is thrilling that I am still here to see NASA sending brave astronauts to circumnavigate the moon next year, and land astronauts soon thereafter,” Aldrin said. “Now… that’s space exploration!”

The former astronaut made headlines earlier this year, when he married his “longtime love,” Anca Faur, on his 93rd birthday, tweeting that they were “as excited as eloping teenagers.”

SSC Hosts Ceremony for Legendary Astronaut and Fighter Pilot Buzz Aldrin’s Honorary Appointment to Brigadier General
By Capt Jaclyn Sumayao, SSC Public Affairs / Published May 05, 2023

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- Lt. Gen. Michael A. Guetlein, Space Systems Command, commander presided over a promotion ceremony for retired United States Air Force Col. Buzz Aldrin, to the honorary rank of brigadier general at Los Angeles Air Force Base, May 5.

Aldrin, a notable recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Air Force Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit, two Distinguished Flying Crosses, and three Air Medals, proudly served in the ranks for more than 21 years, while breaking barriers in our nation’s exploration in space.

“I will argue that Aldrin was truly one of our first Guardian's willing to protect and defend this nation with all that we hold dear,” Guetlein said. “He is one of the first Guardians because he has lived a life which epitomizes the very values we strive to live by today.”

During his relentless dedication to his country, Aldrin flew the F-86 Sabre in 66 combat missions, where he shot down two MIG-15s, while assigned to Suwon Air Base South Korea’s 16th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron and served as a flight commander within the 22nd Fighter Squadron at Bitburg Air Base Germany.

“Without the courage and dedication of Aldrin, we may never have been afforded the luxury of leading the lifestyle we enjoy today,” said Guetlein while addressing the audience. “Over the past 54 years since stepping foot on the moon's surface, he has been an inspiration to a nation, and tireless advocate for space exploration.”

As a part of the ceremony, Aldrin was presented with a general officer’s personal flag, which historically symbolized leadership on the battlefield; however, today it signifies the presence and rank of a general officer. While many before Aldrin have received a similar flag, very few are fortunate to receive an additional salute to becoming an Honorary Guardian within the United States Space Force.

“In addition to being promoted to a one-star in the Air Force, Brig. Gen. Aldrin is being made an Honorary Space Force Guardian,” stated Guetlein. “He has lived a life epitomizing the Space Force Guardian values of character, connection, commitment, and courage.”

Aldrin’s dedication to science, space exploration, and education, began following his time in Germany, when he enrolled as a graduate student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he graduated with a Doctorate of Science in Astronautics with his thesis, “Line-of-Sight Guidance Techniques for Manned Orbital Rendezvous” and was then assigned to the Gemini Target Office of the Air Force Space Systems Division (forerunner of today’s Space Systems Command) at LA AFB.

In 1963, the New Jersey native and graduate from West Point was selected as one of 14 members of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Astronaut Group 3, which opened the door for him to become the first astronaut with a doctoral degree. After completing various trainings and pioneering underwater training techniques, Aldrin, together with Neil Armstrong, made the world’s historic Apollo 11 moonwalk as the first two humans to set foot on another planet.

“Few endeavors have unified the globe like the Apollo 11,” said Congressman Ken Calvert. “The impact of the mission on the course of human history is impossible to calculate, as are the invaluable contributions Buzz made to ensure its success.”

Aldrin’s efforts to advance our nation and its allies’ posture in space, while beginning more than sixty years ago, continue to influence not only the leaders of today, but those for generations to come.

“This is a story that crosses many generations,” said Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall when sharing a personal story on how Aldrin influenced his life. "In my home hung on the wall is the New York Times front page when you landed on the moon. I’m going to look at it a little bit differently after today, it’s going to mean a little bit more to me.”

Yet, while what was once a giant leap for mankind, has now become the stepping stone for traversing the infinitus bounds of space.

“Sometimes it takes a long time to get where you’d like to go,” said Aldrin. “It is thrilling that I am still here to see NASA sending brave astronauts to circumnavigate the moon next year, and land astronauts soon thereafter. Now... that's space exploration!”

To further celebrate Aldrin’s accomplishments, hundreds bonded together alongside leaders within the Department of the Air Force, Congress, local community, U.S. and international military services, and family to celebrate the man who will leave a forever imprint in global history.

Under Title 10, Section 1563 of the U.S. Code, the Secretary of Defense can authorize an honorary promotion of a former member or retired member of the Armed Forces to any grade not exceeding O-8 when the honorary promotion is proposed by a Member of Congress and the Secretary concerned determines that such a promotion is merited.

[James1978]

Air National Guard Units 'Orphaned' Amid Space National Guard Debate

15 May 2023
The Gazette, Colorado Springs, Colo. | By Mary Shinn

When the Space Force was established in late 2019, more than 1,000 Air National Guard members focused on space missions were left behind. A debate about their future is still raging, leaving the airmen in limbo some three years later.

Lawmakers are debating a new Space National Guard that could leave the 16 space-focused guard units, including seven in Colorado, in place. They've come to be known as "orphan units," left behind in an Air Force that is no longer technically responsible for training or equipping them.

The Space Force could also start a new model backed by Gen. Chance Saltzman, chief of space operations, that would allow active duty guardians to work part time and hold civilian jobs. In an October 2022 policy statement the Biden administration said it supported transitioning the guard missions into the active Space Force to avoid the cost of a Space National Guard, a contested number.

While Congress weighs options, Colorado airmen don't have clarity to plan their lives.

"If there is no Space National Guard, our world is going to change," said Maj. Matt Friedell, director of operations for the 138th Electromagnetic Warfare Squadron at Peterson Space Force Base.

The squadron of about 100 people selectively deny enemy communications in the field by jamming satellites, an in-demand capability, he said. The unit also establishes satellite communications.

The work could be reassigned to active-duty Space Force members and the National Guardsmen could transition as well if a Space National Guard is not established. But the transition could be expensive, time-consuming and leaving the guard for an active-duty position may not appeal to many, said Col. Stephanie Figueroa, who oversees the 138th and other space-focused missions in Colorado as part of the 233rd Space Group.

She expects it would take five to seven years to transition all the Guard missions to the active-duty forces and in the process the expertise of guardsmen who also work in industry at aerospace companies such as Ball Aerospace and Lockheed Martin would be lost. She expects very few guardsmen would transfer back into active duty.

"You will get some that will go over. ... Not as many as they think or need," she said.

At the same time, demand for the 138th Squadron's ability to interrupt communications is high and those services may have to be expanded to meet the needs of combatant commanders, she said. Combatant commanders call on service members from all branches to counter threats.

In the cold rain and wind Thursday, the 138th and Air National Guard members from Mississippi used a forklift to push a large collapsible satellite antenna into a hulking C-17 Globemaster III. About 20 guardsmen were headed for Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, along with all their gear loaded on pallets for training with other electromagnetic warfare squadrons from California, Hawaii and Florida. Another unit focused on missile warning from Alaska planned to attend, as well, Friedell said.

The entire trip provides training, he said, right down to the details of putting ramps in place to get satellite antennas onto the plane.

Training for travel is key, because the squadron has been deploying more often than the typical 18- to 24-month cycle, because satellite jamming services are in need. He expects 17 guardsmen to go to Africa in the fall, the third deployment for the squadron since its creation in 2019.

If the unit's duties transitioned to the active Space Force, the unit probably would have to train its replacements and could potentially receive a new mission, such as cyber communications, Friedell said.

Leaving units in place under a Space National Guard would maintain a system that is working, he said.

For decision-makers, a key sticking point is cost.

A Congressional Budget Office analysis found that a new Space National Guard just for the existing units probably would need $100 million annually to support administrative overhead. In addition to $20 million for additional facilities. A larger Space National Guard, between 3,400 and 4,300 people, could cost $385 million-$490 million a year, the CBO estimated. The current Space Force is about 8,000 people.

The adjutants general who oversee the National Guards in each state pushed back on the estimates in an open letter in March, citing an estimate by the National Guard Bureau that expected $250,000 could cover heraldry, uniform items and the transfer of existing manpower and resources from existing units to a new Space National Guard.

The letter also noted that a Space National Guard has bipartisan support.

In May, Republican Rep. Doug Lamborn, R- Colorado Springs, and Rep. Jason Crow, D- Aurora, co-sponsored the latest House bill to create a Space National Guard.

"I am encouraged to see more momentum and support from national defense leaders this year as we restart this conversation," Lamborn said in a statement.

Saltzman, a key player in the conversation, urged action in recent congressional testimony, saying Space Force could leave the space-focused missions in the Air National Guard, but that would be "the most untenable position."

He asked senators to consider the proposal to create part-time guardians in the Space Force that could hold civilian jobs and work as part of the active-duty force. While it sounds similar to a National Guard model, it is more integrated. It would allow members to transfer to full time more easily and retain talent within Space Force, he said.

It's an option that would sever the community ties that the Guard builds, when they jump in to help with wildfires, floods and other emergencies, Friedell said.

"It's such a good feeling that if something goes bad, we go help immediately," he said.

Maj. Tanya N. Downsworth, with the secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs, said in a written statement if the Space Force pursued the model Saltzman is promoting, "additional structure options" could also be examined.

[James1978]

Space Force's Top General Blasts Service's Mission Statement as 'Long and Cumbersome'

15 May 2023
Military.com | By Thomas Novelly

The Space Force's top officer told Guardians in an internal memo Monday that he's concerned with the service's mission statement, saying it doesn't do a good job of summing up its role or why it's important to national security.

Military.com obtained a copy of a memo by Gen. B. Chance Saltzman, the chief of space operations, which went out to all Space Force Guardians on Monday. It detailed his frustration and why he thinks it's likely that many in uniform can't remember their mission statement.

"How many Guardians can recite the current mission statement of the Space Force? My guess is very few," Saltzman wrote. "My biggest concern is that the mission statement does not reflect why the Nation has a Space Force and the vital functions Guardians perform."

In the three years since the Space Force became a separate and distinct service branch under the Department of the Air Force, officials have worked tirelessly to build public recognition.

Military.com previously reported on the woes that Guardians had with the lack of public recognition for the Space Force, which led to late-night talk show monologues, a poorly reviewed Netflix series of the same name, and even internal slogans that mocked the service's slow pace of development.

While there has been a lot of progress -- namely from former Chief of Space Operations Gen. John Raymond and soon-to-be retired Chief Master Sgt. Roger Towberman -- Saltzman's memo is a reminder that the Space Force still has work to do to make its role clearer, even to its own troops.

The current Space Force mission statement reads: "The USSF is responsible for organizing, training, and equipping Guardians to conduct global space operations that enhance the way our joint and coalition forces fight, while also offering decision makers military options to achieve national objectives."

Saltzman took issue with the statement, saying it isn't clear and doesn't articulate the work Guardians do to protect America.

"Additionally, our current mission statement is long and cumbersome," Saltzman said. "We can do better."

Robert Farley, a professor at the University of Kentucky who researches national security and intelligence with a focus on the service, said the Space Force does face a real perception issue due, in part, because its mission can't be displayed like an air show highlighting the latest fighter jets or a boat parade with the newest Navy carriers.

"There is not a lot of things that Space Force can do to make itself more visible," Farley said. "I can totally understand that there's a lot of frustration in Space Force about convincing people that the service actually exists, and trying to give them some sense of what it's supposed to do."

Farley said he agreed with Saltzman's view that the current mission statement is lengthy and unfocused, but doubts that a new one would ultimately change the internal culture among Guardians.

"I can see why it's hard to come up with a compelling and exciting mission statement for what is essentially just a bureaucratic kludge at the moment and trying to make that as exciting as the other services," he said.

Saltzman made it clear in his note that he wants a new mission statement to be informative, memorable and inclusive and wants to have buy-in from fellow Guardians. He asked service members to debate a new mission statement and email officials with suggestions for a rewrite.

Saltzman's memo comes one week after Military.com first reported that the Space Force had selected Chief Master Sgt. John F. Bentivegna to serve as the service's top enlisted leader -- making him responsible for culture, policy and morale of the Space Force's enlisted Guardians.

[James1978]

Biden May Halt Space Command Move: Report

16 May 2023
The Gazette (Colorado Springs, Colo.) | By Annika Schmidt

NBC News reported Monday that President Joe Biden may halt plans to move Space Command to Huntsville, Ala.

Unnamed sources in the report say they believe the White House's potential plan to delay stems from "abortion politics" in Alabama, which recently passed what is considered to be one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the United States.

In his final days in office, former President Donald Trump made the decision to move Space Command from Colorado Springs to Alabama, a decision which Colorado Springs officials and members of the state's congressional delegation have worked for more than two years to reverse, or at least to reopen the headquarters location process.

The Gazette previously reported that they argued moving the command would cost more than $1 billion, force many of the command's personnel and civilian employees to move or quit, and would likely delay the command's plan to formally begin operations later this year.

When considering a headquarters location, the military generally considers access to health care, housing, room for growth and quality of life. According to the NBC report, the White House said the Alabama abortion ban was not a factor in its ongoing review of the headquarters location decision.

The Gazette previously reported that two federal inquiries — conducted by the Department of Defense's Inspector General and the Government Accountability Office into the legitimacy of the Trump administration's decision to relocate the base to Alabama — did not recommend the Department of the Air Force to reopen the evaluation process. A third review by the U.S. Air Force is reportedly ongoing.

Despite rumors that a decision is imminent on whether to keep the headquarters in Colorado Springs or move it to Huntsville, no announcement has been made.

"For over two years I've urged the Biden administration to reverse Trump's politically motivated decision and keep Space Command in Colorado. This decision should be made in the interest of the national security of the United States," Sen. Michael Bennet said.

"As I said on the Senate floor last week, reproductive freedom is important for our military readiness and national security, and it should be a factor in where we base Space Command. It's time to finish deliberations and keep Space Command where it belongs, in Colorado."

The Gazette previously reported that an investigation by the Government Accountability Office found "significant shortfalls" in the Air Force selection process, while a Department of Defense Inspector General probe found the process was reasonable and not improperly influenced by politics.

Senior military and political leaders had recommended Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado Springs as "the preferred choice for USSPACECOM's permanent headquarters" due in part to its ability to reach full operational capacity more quickly than any other site under consideration, according to previous reporting by The Gazette.

However, The Gazette reported an environmental review of potential command sites states the Huntsville community will provide a facility that can house the in-process, nascent Space Command headquarters "at no cost during the construction of a permanent headquarters."

[James1978]

Space Force ground control operators press for ‘absolutely critical’ network upgrades
From antennas that can only "talk" to one satellite at a time to much of the work in the control center being done by paper, operators told reporters on a rare tour of the ops center that they're in dire need of modernization.
By Theresa Hitchens
May 17, 2023

SCHRIEVER SFB — As the number of US government satellites continues to grow, the Space Force’s already outdated Satellite Control Network (SCN) for keeping them flying is in real danger of being overwhelmed, according to officers at the 22nd Space Operations Squadron responsible for that mission.

“What we want everyone to know is that this control network has been working for decades, right, and it was absolutely critical for the growth of the Space Force and our US capabilities across the space domain. But it’s in need of modernization,” Lt. Col. Jaime Garcia, the squadron’s commander told a small group of reporters on a rare tour of the SCN’s operations center here at Schriever SFB in Colorado Springs.

“We need to start focusing on making sure that not only infrastructure at all the individual sites is growing, but also growing the capacity that we’re able to support. Because as we’re seeing… the number of launches is not decreasing. The need for space and space domain capacity is not going to go down,” he said. “(B)ringing in that modernization sooner rather than later is absolutely critical.”

The SCN is primarily used to support launches and early satellite operations, track and control satellites, and provide emergency support to tumbling and lost satellites for constellations owned by the US military, the National Reconnaissance Office, NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). As well as the operations center here, the network comprises 19 antennas and ground systems at seven locations around the globe that undertake what are known as TT&C functions — tracking (determining where a satellite is located), telemetry (collecting information about its health and status) and command (transmitting signals to control subsystems and maneuvering satellites if necessary).

The 22nd Space Operations Squadron reports to Delta 6, one of nine components of the Space Force’s primary field command, Space Operations Command, that provides trained Guardians to US Space Command to undertake its portfolio of missions. It is one of three squadrons that has day-to-day responsibility for the SCN, managing the SCN operations center for the entire network, alongside the 21st and 23rd squadrons, which take care of the antennas in the Pacific and the Atlantic theaters respectively.

The operations center here is a 24/7 mission with the crew numbering about 120. Two-thirds of them are civilian, Garcia said, in large part because the training required is so time-consuming, taking between nine and 12 months. A Guardian’s typical assignment time to any one mission is only about three years.

“We do everything from initial launch, where the booster is tracked; initial separation, where the satellite is put into orbit; station keeping; and general operations for satellites… and then final disposition,” Lt. Col. Jason Panzarello, director of operations at the squadron, explained.

He noted that while a number of military constellations — including GPS, missile warning systems, and those used for nuclear command and control — have their own ground control antennas, they also can, and do, fall back on the SCN on occasion.

“Basically, every DoD satellite can operate on our network,” he said.

SCN operators also can see if a satellite is experiencing interference with its command and control functions, whether deliberate jamming or not. During the week of April 23, for instance, the crew assigned to do that defensive counterspace mission saw 17 “anomalies” indicating interference of some sort, although the number of incidents vary wildly.

Panzarello said the squadron has not seen any other nation “actively” trying to jam or confuse US birds. However, he said, China’s manned space station in low Earth orbit never turns off its broadcasting system and thus causes a little interference with satellites crossing its path.

Instead, the leaders of the 22nd Space Operations Squadron are primarily worried about the network’s decreasing viability.

Alarming Report ‘Very Much Portrayed Our Feelings’
As highlighted in a recent report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the SCN’s hardware and computer systems are rapidly nearing obsolescence, while demands for its services are skyrocketing. The government watchdog office also chided the Space Force for not having an up-to-date comprehensive plan for keeping the network operational while working to modernize outdated equipment.

“They very much portrayed our feelings; we had meetings upon meetings with them,” Panzarello said, to nods in agreement from his commanding officer.

“The numbers of satellites will continue to go up. The number of antennas that we have going up is notional at this point,” he added mournfully.

Panzarello explained that the SCN currently is managing more than 200 satellites, plus an ever-growing number of launch vehicles — with the number of launches growing from 36 in 2021 to 42 in 2022. But the SCN’s parabolic antennas used to communicate with them are seriously outdated, relying on mechanical operations to change position and able to contact only one satellite at a time. Thus, the antennas are being increasingly overstressed in trying to keep up with growing on-orbit needs.

Garcia said “the biggest concern” for the squadron is that “the existing infrastructure was was built back in the ’70s.”

That concern was made clear from viewing the large, unwieldy computer stations being used by his crew, not to mention the fact that much of the work is being done on paper.

“It’s still a manually intensive job,” said Panzarello.

Garcia said his team needs “a stronger, more resilient communications architecture, antennas that are able to handle higher throughputs of contacts, and also [modernization of] our scheduling system so that it is able to manage all the contacts.”

According to briefing charts provided by the squadron, the SCN contacts satellites about 155,000 times a year, around 450 times a day. SCN operators use a matrix for scheduling when each individual satellite can contact the SCN and for how long, but conflicts among their TT&C needs are commonplace — even when all 19 of the SNC’s antennas are fully operational.

Millions To Be Spent On Upgrades, But Gaps Remain
The two officers explained that the Space Force is looking at multiple initiatives to try to improve the SCN across the board.

The Space Force’s fiscal 2024 budget request includes a total of $86.5 million for a handful of SCN modernization and augmentation efforts, as well as upgraded cybersecurity — almost double the $42 million appropriated in FY23.

This includes integrating new antennas into the network from both other federal agencies and commercial providers to expand TT&C capacity.

The service already has an agreement to utilize some of NOAA’s antennas, Garcia said, and is “working on figuring out how we can leverage commercial companies.”

However, according to the GAO report, there remain challenges to using other existing antennas. The five NOAA antennas that SCN is working to integrate require upgrades and won’t be ready for use until the end of next year. As for commercial antennas, the preponderance of those currently in use do not use compatible bandwidths and/or do not meet DoD cybersecurity standards.

Meanwhile, the Space Rapid Capabilities Office last May launched the Satellite Communications Augmentation Resource program, designed to field as many as 12 new phased array antennas for the SCN by the early 2030s. Unlike the current SCN antennas, phased array models can simultaneously contact between 18 to 20 satellites. The office awarded an Other Transaction Authority agreement with a ceiling of $1.4 billion to BlueHalo in May 2022 for the SCAR effort. Development and delivery of the first prototype antenna is on a cost-plus-fixed fee basis while the remaining antennas are expected to deliver on a firm-fixed price basis.

The first SCAR system delivery is expected in 2025, while the remaining eleven units will be delivered through May 2031, according to a Space Force spokesperson. The service’s FY24 budget funds development, fielding, operations and sustainment of the first antenna.

The end goal of all the SCN plans, according to the Space Force budget documents, is an expanded, fully automated command and control network.

“SCN acquisition strategy is evolving from completing obsolescence, resiliency, and cyber security upgrades for existing satellite C2 network assets to future planning for the evolution of the SCN, Ground Enterprise Next (GEN), and data transmit, receive and transport architectures to increase efficiency and resiliency of SATOPS operations,” the budget documents say. “This evolution will integrate the commercial and federal augmentation services with the SCN to create a comprehensive system for automated resource management known as Enterprise Resource Management (ERM). ERM plans to award initial contracts in FY2023 and down-select to a single vendor in FY2024.”

Garcia explained that the long-term vision is to get computer systems for things like scheduling that can function “machine-to-machine” and ease some of the burden on his overtaxed crew. But for now, the mantra at the squadron is making sure everyone who relies on the SCN is aware of its urgent modernization requirements.

“I think what we need to focus on is making sure that everyone across the globe understands that the SCN needs to modernize… and having that that way forward, so that we as the United States maintain our advantage in space. We need to make sure that this keeps up with the risk,” he said.

[James1978]

EXCLUSIVE: Space Force, IC warily approach agreement on commercial intel imagery buys
While there is no formal agreement, NRO and the Space Force have reached an informal accord to each use commercial imagery the other has acquired, and are in discussions about a potential DoD-IC "marketplace" to ease sharing.

By Theresa Hitchens
May 22, 2023

GEOINT 2023 — The Space Force and the Intelligence Community are slowly honing in on a multi-faceted agreement about their respective roles in buying intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) data from commercial satellite operators, according to officials from both sides, centering on how new contracting arrangements could foster sharing and avoid duplication.

While nothing official has yet been signed, a number of developments, unreported until now — from a new informal accord, to planned meetings with relevant officials, to discussions of a common “marketplace” for commercial buys — suggest a new push to resolve bureaucratic squabbles over the strategically critical capability. How far that gets, however, remains an open question, considering the difficulties involved and the tendencies of large organizations to cleave to the status quo.

“Officially, the roles, responsibilities, and budgets are very clearly aligned. However, it is also quite clear that this is a time of significant change,” said Keith Masback, a former senior IC official who now councils commercial firms seeking to break into the national security ISR market. “There are new realities — such as the vastly increased agility and timeliness of commercial remote sensing as well as improvements in spatial, temporal, and spectral resolution — that call for a different construct in terms of warfighter support. I think we are lacking comprehensive, blunt discussions about the way forward which include the Hill, the services, and the agencies.”

The latest round of haggling deals primarily with the division of labor between the Space Force and the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), traditionally the keeper of US spy satellites, on the circumstances in which the neophyte service would buy its own commercial imagery to fill what it sees as an “urgent” military need. Indeed, the bickering over commercial ISR acquisition was called out by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) in a September 2022 report.

NRO has maintained acquisition authority for commercial remote sensing imagery since 2018, when the office took it over from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA). NGA remains in charge of acquiring analytical services produced by commercial providers, as well as for disseminating ISR products derived from sensors in other domains provided by NRO, DoD and other national security organizations (such as the CIA).

“There is no formal agreement yet” between the Space Force and NRO, Col. Rich Kniseley, director of the new(ish) Commercial Space Office at the Space Force’s primary acquisition command, Space Systems Command, told Breaking Defense. His office is responsible for procurement of satellite-based commercial services, including imagery of both terrestrial targets and other spacecraft, as well as communications, weather and positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) data. It combines previously stand-alone organizations for interfacing with commercial providers, including: the Commercial Satellite Communications Office (CSCO), the Space Domain Awareness Marketplace, the SSC Front Door, and SpaceWERX.

While confirming that no official agreement has been inked, an NRO spokesperson explained in an email that the outlines of a tentative, “informal” accord is already in place.

“To leverage NRO and Space Systems Command’s (SSC) acquisitions, we have an informal agreement with the Commercial Space Office (COMSO) that SSC will use NRO contracts first wherever possible. Similarly, as COMSO establishes acquisition strategies and data purchase agreements within SSC’s area of responsibility, such as Space Domain Awareness, NRO agrees to use COMSO data purchases wherever possible,” the spokesperson said.

Kniseley said that he is planning to meet with the IC’s Commercial Space Council to work out details of a future agreement.

“I am in the process of setting up a meeting this month for that very purpose, but this effort has been in work for some time,” he said. The September GAO report “laid out some great recommendations to clarify some roles and responsibilities in this area, and we are focused on delivering outcomes at speed. The intent has always been to be integrated with the IC activities to ensure no unnecessary duplication but deliver Combatant Commands commercial space options in timelines they have more influence over.”

‘Tactical ISR’: The Devil Dances In The Details
The rub, of course, remains in defining “wherever possible” — that is, the criteria for judging who does what when, under what circumstances. While IC and Defense Department leaders publicly sing “Kumbaya” and praise never-better space cooperation, there has been plenty of rough-and-tumble behind the scenes (and sometimes spilling over into public discourse) about the delineation of roles and missions in the three-plus years of the newest military branch’s existence.

Senior DoD officials long have been throwing metaphorical elbows about responsibility for what they call “tactical ISR,” insisting that the job of providing up-to-the-minute imagery, coming from both their own and commercial satellites, belongs to them — most lately over tracking targets on the ground, a mission primarily conducted by the Air Force up to now using the aging E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (JSTARS) aircraft and drones.

Lt. Gen. Leah Lauderback, Air Force deputy chief of staff for ISR and cyber effects operations, told the Mitchell Institute last week that DoD has concluded that current ISR aircraft across the board simply would not be able to survive future conflicts with China and Russia. Thus, she said, her service is working to transition the mission to space-based capabilities provided by the Space Force and the IC.

She explained that in her mind, when it comes to thinking about the “space-based layer” of ISR, that does not “necessarily equate to the intelligence community owning that. Just as we have an airborne layer that is dedicated to Department of Defense, purchased or owned and operated by Department of Defense, I think the same can be said for a space-based layer. We’re in these conversations right now — the departments, both DNI [Director of National Intelligence] and the DoD are — and so we’ll see what comes out of that.”

NRO and NGA officials, by contrast, have gently pushed back — for example, raising the question of whether “tactical” and “strategic” are delineators that make sense with regard to ISR data. Further, NRO and the Space Force recently worked out an accord on a cooperative approach to acquiring government-owned satellites carrying classified ground moving target indicator payloads that will see the spy-sat office in charge of contracting a vendor, albeit with Pentagon input.

“NRO remains responsible for developing acquisition strategy, purchasing, and ensuring integration of remote sensing data on behalf of the Department of Defense and the Intelligence community,” the NRO spokesperson stressed.

At the same time, the spokesperson said, the spy-sat agency “also recognizes solving today’s most difficult challenges requires that we depend on our partnership with U.S. Space Force to identify new opportunities to optimize our acquisition strategies.”

A ‘Marketplace’ Solution?
Kniseley told Breaking Defense that a future agreement on commercial ISR buys could include some sort of overarching contractual mechanism that would involve not just the Space Force and NRO, but also NGA — something that he said would be “consistent with” GAO’s recommendations.

“In efforts to address timeliness issues that our combatant commands face, while also lowering the barrier of entry for providers, we are evaluating several ‘marketplace’ concepts that could have contracts from multiple agencies (to include the work done at NRO and NGA) underpinning available commercial data or analytics,” he said.

An NGA spokesperson confirmed the discussions with the Space Force, noting that such a new mechanism might contribute to the agency’s own ISR database that provides the entire US government with needed imagery, along with analysis of what it means.

“NGA is engaging with USSF on their development of a ‘marketplace’ concept, with an eye to how it can augment the development and operationalization of NGA’s GEOINT Supplier Matrix, which is the tool/database that acts as a commercial GEOINT knowledge repository for the USG. The goal is for NGA’s GEOINT Supplier Matrix and the USSF ‘marketplace’ to be complementary to avoid duplication,” the spokesperson said.

Meanwhile, Kniseley and SSC have been pursuing several other avenues for acquisition cooperation with the IC.

In a May 11 presentation to the National Security Space Association. Kniseley said that COMSO will open a new “commercial collaboration center” in Chantilly, Virginia June 7 in order to be “close to” the IC, as well as NASA and the Space Development Agency. Chantilly is the home of NRO headquarters. The opening will coincide with an “industry day” for commercial PNT providers, he noted.

He further told Breaking Defense that for the first time, the Space Force will contribute to the June iteration of the “unclassified biannual Joint Commercial Constellations Report” put together each June and December by the NRO, NGA and the National Security Agency “to showcase knowledge gained from collaborative with commercial industry.” (Little information is publicly available about that apparently under-the-radar report.)

The Space Force’s submission to the June report will be for “Space Domain Awareness/Space Situational Awareness,” Kniseley added.

Space Domain Awareness: Low Hanging Fruit?
Given the fact that keeping tabs on-orbit spacecraft, using both terrestrial and space-based sensors, has long been a DoD mission and not an NRO focus, it would make sense that this would be one area where the two sides could find harmony — raising the possibility that this will be the arena the service and the IC can agree a shared acquisition approach.

An NRO spokesperson confirmed that the Joint Commercial Constellations Report discussion could serve as a venue for an agreement between the office and the Space Force on commercial acquisition.

Buying power for other missions where ever-improving commercial capabilities may expand military capabilities, however, may be a whole lot harder to wring out.

To muddy the waters further, the National Space Council’s industry advisory group in February decided that it too would wade in on the issue of how the military might make better use of the commercial space sector. It is unclear, however, if and when the group might issue recommendations.

Of course, it is Congress that will have the last word on who buys what, in that lawmakers hold the power of the purse. And lawmakers traditionally has been divided when Title 50 (IC) and Title 10 (DoD) equities clash, as different policy and appropriations committees oversee each side. Thus, even if the IC and DoD come to terms, it’s anyone’s guess whether or not that accord would be acceptable on Capitol Hill.

[James1978]

Space Force Struggles To Track Objects in Orbit
May 26,2023
By Josh Luckenbaugh

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado — Space is an increasingly crowded domain, with governments and commercial companies across the globe launching more and more systems into orbit. Meanwhile, the Space Force is struggling to keep tabs on what’s happening up there, service officials say.

In the last 15 years, 53 nations have begun operating satellites in space, increasing active satellites orbiting the Earth by nearly 500 percent, Space Force’s Chief of Space Operations Gen. B. Chance Saltzman said during a keynote address at the Space Foundation’s Space Symposium.

With more countries and companies operating in space, the number of orbital launches is expected to go up exponentially in the coming years. Dr. Chris Scolese, the director of the National Reconnaissance Office, said at the symposium the NRO alone is planning to quadruple the number of satellites it has in orbit over the next decade.

Saltzman said along with the operational systems in space, “the amount of trackable debris has dramatically risen.” The International Space Station has had 1,500 close approaches and taken six debris avoidance maneuvers in the last year, he said.

“Obviously with human life on orbit, we spend a tremendous amount of time making sure that we understand as best we can anything that could endanger the lives of those astronauts,” he said.

Despite the need for improved space domain awareness as the number of systems and debris in orbit has risen, the Space Force’s monitoring systems are “still lagging,” Saltzman said.

Lt. Gen. Stephen Whiting, commander of Space Operations Command, said while the Space Force has the world’s best capabilities, they aren’t good enough. It’s not just about tracking the increasing number of objects in orbit, “but it’s about knowing about what the threats are on orbit, maintaining custody of those threats and then doing things about that,” he said.

Saltzman said it takes too long to get data and make sense of it. “When I hear about a breakup that occurred of a rocket body, where one rocket body became five pieces of rocket body, but it took us a couple of days to put all that information together — okay, that’s probably not the kind of timeline” that would allow the Space Force to take meaningful action.

Legacy space domain awareness systems were designed merely to “catalog objects in space, so we knew what was there and could basically account for if things were going to run into each other,” he said. “That’s just not going to be sufficient when we start talking about space as a warfighting domain.

“It’s about comprehensive data, it’s about access to all regions and all orbital regimes,” he continued. “It’s about rapid fusion of that information — the massive amount of data that’s coming in — and getting better and better and better so that we can operate at an operationally relevant timeline, not a catalog and maintenance timeline.”

Sometime this year, Space Systems Command is planning to launch an operational demonstration mission called Victus Nox. The mission is part of the command’s Tactically Responsive Space portfolio, which is intended to demonstrate how to respond “to a real threat with an operationally relevant capability within operationally relevant timelines,” according to a command release. The command’s leader Lt. Gen. Michael Guetlein said an operationally relevant timeline means responding within 24 hours.

Victus Nox will be a low-Earth orbit mission to get after “growing the space domain awareness architecture to prove that we can respond to a threat within 24 hours,” Guetlein said.

Firefly Aerospace and Millennium Space Systems announced in October that Space Systems Command had awarded them contracts to provide launch services and the satellite for Victus Nox, respectively.

The Space Force has not given the two companies the exact timeline for when the mission will take place, Firefly CEO Bill Weber said at the symposium.

“We’re going to enter a window,” then the Space Force “will say to us during that window, ‘Launch within 24 hours,” he said. “We will make the payload, lift the rocket vertical and both will launch, and that is as much as we know right now, and we don’t need to know anything more than that.”

Guetlein said he anticipates Victus Nox is “not going to make 24 hours — they’re going to make it in about a week, which is tremendously shorter than we’ve ever done in the past.” The goal is to have an “enduring” tactically responsive space capability by 2025 or 2026, said Lt. Col. Mackenzie Birchenough, the material leader of the command’s Space Safari program office, which is leading the Victus Nox mission.

Along with its space capabilities, the Space Force’s ground systems need modernizing, according to a Government Accountability Office report, “Satellite Control Network: Updating Sustainment Plan Would Help Space Force Better Manage Future Efforts,” published April 10.

Managed by the 22nd Space Operations Squadron, the Satellite Control Network comprises 19 ground antennas across the globe that support the launch and day-to-day operations of U.S. government satellites, more than 90 percent of which are Space Force or NRO satellites, according to slides shown during a tour of the squadron’s operations floor at Schriever Space Force Base, Colorado.

“The network is facing sustainment and obsolescence issues while demands on the system are increasing” due to the rising number of satellites in orbit, the GAO report said. It recommended the Space Force update the network’s lifecycle sustainment plan or issue a new one “that includes current efforts and Space Force responsibilities.”

GAO’s findings “very much portrayed our feelings,” said the 22nd Space Operations Squadron’s director of operations Lt. Col. Jason Panzarello.

“The number of satellites will continue to go up,” he said during the tour. “The number of antennas that we have going up is notional at this point.”

The network’s existing infrastructure was primarily built in the 1970s, and all the antennas are mechanical, “so the antenna has to physically turn and move to point at the contact,” said the squadron’s commander Lt. Col. Jaime Garcia.

The Space Force is currently working on a Satellite Communication Augmentation Resource effort to acquire 12 new, higher-capacity antennas, with the first prototype expected in 2025, the GAO report said.

Those new antennas would have “phased array” capabilities such as a “digital pointing system,” Garcia said. The “software-defined transmission capability” would give the network “a lot more capacity to handle the volume of satellites that we’re anticipating,” he added.

As the Space Force seeks to upgrade its ability to keep track of space systems critical to national security, the Defense Department is in the process of transferring a number of its space situational awareness responsibilities to the Commerce Department.

In 2018, then-President Donald Trump signed Space Policy Directive-3, which tasked the Commerce Department to build a space situational awareness system for commercial and civil operators to allow the Defense Department to focus on national security matters in space.

“The operating domain has significantly evolved,” with commercial companies increasingly launching systems into space, said Travis Langster, the principal director of space and missile defense policy at the Defense Department. “Spaceflight safety for commercial and civil doesn’t inherently require a military system,” hence the decision to transition several of those responsibilities to the Commerce Department.

The transition is complicated, but the two departments are “making great progress,” said the director of the Commerce Department’s Office of Space Commerce Dr. Richard DalBello.

“There are a lot of complicated issues to consider … on data, roles and responsibilities, the fact that DoD actually has a global presence and sharing information, and what part of that task are we going to take over,” DalBello said. The two departments signed a memorandum of agreement in September and have set up working groups to tackle “the hard issues,” he said.

Phase one of the Commerce Department’s space situational awareness system is scheduled to be implemented in the third quarter of fiscal year 2024, DalBello said, adding that initially Commerce will be “relying heavily on the DoD core data that comes from the Space Surveillance Network that they run,” and then “leveraging new data sources.”

“It’s our goal to stand up a completely unclassified system and to ensure that there’s robust data sharing” with commercial operators,” he said. “We have to move to a world where there’s more transparency in what commercial operators are doing — where they are, they need to share the location information, they need to share the maneuver information, and we should be able to reshare that information.”

Langster said going forward the Defense Department will look to acquire technology that is not necessarily different from that of the Commerce Department, but will have different applications and use cases to achieve robust space domain awareness. This involves not only situational awareness, but also “understanding and characterizing, predicting and attributing what’s happening in the domain, being able to get as close as we can to understanding intent and having the capabilities to respond to activities in space that threaten our national security interests,” he said.

Despite these efforts to expand the United States’ domain awareness, a collision of space objects is likely inevitable, as most of the objects do not have the ability to maneuver, Saltzman said.

“47,000 objects on orbit — 47,000 that can hit 46,999, that’s a big math problem,” he said. “And that’s what the system is trying to keep up with,” not including objects too small to detect.

“Yeah, there’s going to be collisions,” he said. “Do I think we can watch and prioritize the things that we’re most sensitive on? I do, I think we have that capability.”

[James1978]

Have Space Command HQ Requirements Changed? Investigations Underway

26 May 2023
al.com | By Paul Gattis

The secretary of the Air Force, authorized with making the final decision on the permanent home for Space Command headquarters, is investigating changes made in the command’s mission of which the secretary was not aware.

That’s according to a letter released Thursday by Alabama Congressman Mike Rogers, who announced a probe looking into those changes as well by the House Armed Services Committee that he chairs. The Armed Services Committee has oversight of the armed forces.

It’s the first indication that changes have been made to the evaluation process and goes beyond the stepped-up rhetoric in recent months from Alabama’s representatives in Washington as well as Montgomery. Gov. Kay Ivey said last week that Alabama “would not take ‘no’ for an answer” on Space Command.

Those changes, Rogers’ letter said, could alter the requirements previously outlined for the Space Command headquarters. A series of federal reviews determined Huntsville’s Redstone Arsenal was the best site for the permanent home of Space Command. Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle said the revelation of changes to the selection criteria “breaks our trust in the selection process.”

An NBC News report earlier this month said that the Biden administration was looking to keep Space Command at its startup location in Colorado Springs, Colo. The rationalization, the report said, focused on Alabama’s restrictive laws on abortion.

Rogers, a Republican from Saks, reiterated months-long concerns from Alabama’s congressional delegation that the decision-making process is skewing toward political influence rather than merit based.

“Today, I launched an investigation into the continued delays in the SPACECOM Headquarters basing decision,” Rogers said in a statement. “The fact is, the Air Force already made the correct decision well over two years ago. That decision was affirmed by the GAO and the DoD Inspector General over a year ago. This decision was based on multiple factors, and Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama was the clear winner in the Evaluation and Selection phase. I am deeply concerned that the continued delays in making this move final are politically motivated and damaging to our national security.”

Rogers sent his letter from the Armed Services Committee to Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall and Space Command Commander James Dickinson. Kendall said in March that “additional analysis” was ongoing relating to the Space Command decision.

“During our meeting, Secretary Kendall said that he did not direct SPACECOM to make ‘fundamental’ changes to SPACECOM’s mission and headquarters requirements and was unaware of anyone else in the Department of Defense having done so,” Rogers’ letter said. “Yet such changes have occurred. These apparently sweeping unilateral changes to policies and posture seem to have been made with zero civilian oversight at the Department of Defense.

“Secretary Kendall also stated that he was unaware who, if anyone, at the Department of Defense approved expenditures of taxpayer funds to unilaterally change the mission or headquarters requirements of SPACECOM.”

The letter went on to say, “Secretary Kendall informed the delegation that he launched his own investigation into these irregularities. The Committee on Armed Services will also undertake its own investigation into this matter.”

U.S. Sen. Katie Britt of Alabama, in social media posts, echoed the concerns expressed by Rogers.

“Secretary Kendall told Alabama’s bipartisan delegation this week that ‘fundamental changes’ were being made to Space Command’s basing requirements — yet he isn’t the one making the changes, and he’s unaware of who is making the changes,” Britt said. “What’s clear is that this basing decision is being stolen from the Air Force behind the American people’s backs. We deserve answers and we’re going to keep fighting until we have them.”

U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama applauded Rogers’ efforts.

“Appreciate the leadership of (Rogers) to hold leaders accountable and find out why this decision is not being followed through,” Tuberville said in a message posted on Twitter.

The district of Congressman Dale Strong, a Republican from Monrovia, includes Redstone Arsenal. Strong is also a member of the Armed Services Committee.

“After a delegation meeting with the Secretary of the Air Force, I had no choice but to request that House Armed Services Committee Chairman, Mike Rogers, open a formal investigation into the Biden administration’s failure to announce a permanent location for U.S. Space Command ( SPACECOM) headquarters,” Strong said in a statement Thursday.

Battle read a statement regarding Space Command at Thursday’s city council meeting.

“In the search for a home for US Space Command, this community went through a lengthy selection process that allowed us to showcase the greatness of Huntsville not just once or twice and even three times,” Battle said. “Media reports that the results of the selection process has been changed and our No. 1 ranking may even be invalidated. The selection process should not allow the changing of the rules after the competition ends. The results should not be guided by anyone.

“It’s clear Huntsville’s Redstone Arsenal won the competition. We were chosen because we could best provide for the long term good of the American military and for the safety of the American public and our allies. It now appears some are trying to change results and give this selection to another community. This breaks our trust in the selection process and the agencies administering the competition. I’m saddened that the integrity of this process has come to the point that an investigation is necessary.”

In a Twitter post, Battle described the apparent changes as “shadowy.”

“I fully support an investigation into what appears to be a shadowy attempt to undermine the ethical and objective selection process that identified Huntsville as the permanent home for Space Command,” Battle said.

It’s been almost 2½ years since the Air Force announced that Redstone Arsenal was the “preferred location” for Space Command. Still, no decision on a permanent home has been announced.

“Redstone Arsenal was chosen as the preferred location after a years-long process,” Strong said in his statement. “The decision was later confirmed not just once, but twice with the results of the Government Accountability Office and Department of Defense Inspector General investigations.

“It is plain and simple: Redstone Arsenal is the best possible location to host U.S. Space Command headquarters. The Air Force’s basing process established this, and it was confirmed.”

Rogers, who last week asked officials involved in the decision-making process to “preserve all documentation” related to that decision, called on Space Command in his letter to “cease and desist from any action that implicates taxpayer funds in a scheme to alter the mission or headquarters requirements of SPACECOM without civilian order or oversight.”

Rogers also asked for an array of “documentations and communications” related to the decision-making process to be delivered no later than June 16.