Rethinking national and global security: The role of space-based observations

In 1955 US President Eisenhower made his Open Skies proposal to the USSR, suggesting an exchange of blueprints showing the location of military installations in the two countries. The proposal was rejected at the time, but today the proliferation of remote sensing technology, along with interrelated security concerns, suggests that the time has come to rethink and update the concept. In this paper the author explains his recent proposal to the US Congress that a national commission be established to explore how information gathered by civilian remote sensing satellites could increase international security and stability without jeopardizing national defence.     

Creating a European internal security strategy involving space applications

Space applications are used for countering a wide variety of external security threats but their use for the provision of internal security (for non-military threats like terrorism, organised crime or illegal immigration) is still largely neglected. Several steps have recently been taken to consider space applications for counter-terrorism and other internal security threats. In the context of the general call for a specific European security research programme, the European Union’s Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development (FP 7) is conducting several projects using space applications for fighting internal security threats. However, current attempts remain scattered across national and European initiatives, policy fields and pillars, institutional actors and actors involved in various projects. There is thus a strong need for a more integrated approach at the EU-level through a European Internal Security Strategy complementing the existing European Security Strategy. The US has been looking at the provision of homeland security for some time. A revision of existing structures in Europe should thus not neglect the dimension of transatlantic cooperation in this policy area.     

美国空间对抗新思维与装备技术发展新动向

美国2011年出台《国家安全空间战略》,针对空间对抗问题,首次提出多层空间威慑措施,首次从战略层面指明美国未来空间对抗装备和技术的发展方向,体现出美国空间对抗的新思维。对照美国空间对抗的新思维和空间对抗装备技术发展的新动向,可以看出,这种新思维已在落实中。新形势下,其他国家争取有限制天权面临风险增加、难度增大等新挑战。     

Gathering news from space

Developments in remote-sensing technology have prompted suggestions that the news media could soon make routine use of newsgathering from space. A satellite system dedicated to this purpose (a ‘Mediasat’) could supply critical information. Government policy makers, however, fear that the media's use of such technology could affect national security, foreign relations and personal privacy. This article assesses US government policy on current and future newsgathering from space, and the technical potential for a Mediasat system. The authors raise doubts about the commercial viability of Mediasat, and point out that existing media sources already provide information on news stories. They conclude that concerns over the use of data from space will have to be met on a case-by-case basis as the media gain experience, using the same criteria now applied to balance the right of freedom of information with the need for national security.     

China's rise in space and US policy responses: A collision course?

China's opaque politics present particular difficulties for US space policy. Heavily invested in and reliant on space, the US will closely monitor China's burgeoning space program. New space powers, and the increasing use of space generally will further create significant challenges, most particularly to the reliance of states on space for national security. In order to maintain its space capabilities, the US will have to decide between securing this via multilateral and co-operative uses of space, or through trying to maintain a level of dominance over other space actors. While very gradually shifting away from the latter position, Washington's policy choices are complicated by the lack of a clear Chinese space strategy. While the Chinese space program, and its wider intentions, are opaque, tenure of a more cooperative approach course might prove fragile.     

US government policy - the major factor shaping the international commercial space launch marketplace

In this Viewpoint — an edited version of a statement made to the US House Committee on Science's Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics' hearing on ‘US launch strategy’ — the President of Arianespace, Inc analyses the overriding importance of US government policies and executive decisions on the shaping and behavior of the international market in commercial space launch services. Chief among these is the overruling of commercial imperatives by foreign policy and national security interests and the consequent regular intervention of the US government in launch decisions. The ability of Arianespace successfully to compete in a market severely distorted as a result of these interventions, including the encouragement of joint ventures between US and Russian or Ukrainian companies, is explained.     

US–Russian cooperation in human spaceflight: assessing the impacts

How far the broad security, political and economic goals behind the USA's invitation to Russia to participate in the International Space Station have been achieved is assessed in this synthesis of the views of a range of experts in Russian affairs and US foreign and national security policy. The article covers the impacts of cooperation on the Russian aerospace industrial base, on nonproliferation issues and on overall US–Russian relations. Various themes are identified—such as Russian ambivalence over embracing Western norms—and while the experts agreed on certain subjects, there was no overall unanimity.     

SDI and the new space renaissance

This article outlines the objectives of the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) Program and describes the new technologies being considered by the Program. The author puts forward the view that the SDI will yield great benefits beyond the military goals, in terms of important technological advances, stimulation of the US economy and increased national security.     

Setting space transportation policy for the 1990s

This article is a summary of a report on space transportation policy by the US Congress's Congressional Budget Office published in October 1986. The report was written as a contribution to the discussions in the USA on national space policy after the Challenger accident.     

Can power from space compete?

This report summarizes the findings of a report entitled Can Power from Space Compete? produced for NASA by Resources for the Future (RFF). In considering how well satellite solar power (SSP) is likely to compete in the market for electricity from the present to 2020, it finds that neither perceived shortages of fossil fuel nor climate change factors are likely to be major issues in this time frame. Moreover, the high costs of SSP and possible concerns over public health and national security will continue to constrain its development. This does not mean, however, that R&D into the subject should cease; it may well have a future in the short term when applied to non-terrestrial systems. The full report is available at http://www.rff.org.     

United States space policy and international partnership

Has the current US space policy improved the USA's overall strategic position? Does it affect favorably international partnerships? These questions are examined in terms of security, political economy, and influence. In today's context, where there are more space players, more options, more potential for unintended consequences, and higher stakes, unilateral action is more limited in its effectiveness than in earlier times. Surveying current US space policy, it is not clear that data-driven, analytically based decisions are being made to affect positively national independence, innovation, market creation, and international perceptions of the USA as a trustworthy partner. More promising are the steps taken to bolster a predictable space operational environment and economic competitiveness. Ultimately, in order to achieve American excellence and leadership, a ‘closed loop’ on the policy system is needed, to gauge regularly and systematically whether the US is achieving the desired national outcomes.     

The eagle eyes the dragon in space—A critique

China's space policy and its purpose have become an increasingly contentious subject. This paper critically examines the claims, made by Ashley Tellis, among others, that China has a space strategy decided and coordinated by the Chinese military and dedicated to defeating superior US power locally in an asymmetrical war, and that it is this military space strategy that drives China's single-minded pursuit of space science and technology and the development of China's space programme. To do so, the paper conducts two investigations: into the declining role of the Chinese military in China's foreign and security policy making and its limited influence in formulating China's grand strategy; and the other into the contingent history of China's two space programs, Shenzhou and Chang'e, which have largely been driven by civilian scientist communities, rather than the military. In so doing, I argue that the claims of China's ‘military space strategy’ are over-imaginative and serve a particular political purpose. The social imaginary of a threatening China produced by the US strategic gaze at China in space, I further argue, has dangerous policy implications.     

Better ways of getting into the space business: microeconomic reform in Australian space affairs

This personal view of trends in global space enterprise suggests that, unless they adapt and re-structure, large-scale national and regional space agencies built on traditional lines may struggle to survive, at least in the developed world. With the growing maturity of speculative private sector space initiatives, the role of traditional space agencies as project managers and mediators between providers and the market may become redundant, while in the absence of a cogent national security argument, public interest in space is no longer to be relied upon to deliver large national space budgets. Australia’s newest space mission, the FedSat scientific microsatellite, was announced at the same time as the former national space program was terminated. This process and its consequences are examined as an instance of microeconomic reform, which seeks to improve productivity and competitiveness by producing a regulatory and infrastructure environment that gives business more flexibility. Historical circumstances unique to Australia may have contributed to this change of direction, but many contributing elements also apply elsewhere. The features of the new approach are identification of public sector space needs; selecting the most suitable team from both public and private sectors to manage the project; and the acceptance of a large proportion of the risk by the proponents.     

Space medicine comes down to Earth

Over the years innovative technologies developed for space flight have found their way into a variety of useful terrestrial applications. Significant examples can be found in the area of space medicine, which has greatly influenced human health care delivery on Earth. This report discusses several US applications of space medicine to terrestrial health needs and services, stressing the importance of a ‘space applications mentality’ as a valuable national asset.     

Legal analysis of Sea Launch license: National security and environmental concerns

This paper analyzes the national security and environmental concerns surrounding the Sea Launch consortium's international license from a legal perspective. The growing market demand for a more affordable, reliable, and convenient commercial satellite launching service has led to the idea of Sea Launch—launching satellites from the sea near the Equator. However, this can pose potential conflicts between national security and foreign policy interests, and between environmental conservation and economic growth because of the international technology development issues around launching from the sea. This paper illustrates a case for balancing such multiple constraints via legal interpretation. The analysis is conducted in reference to 49 U.S.C. § 70101–70119 Commercial Space Launch Activities and 42 U.S.C. § 4321–4345 National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969. The paper also examines weather the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea is binding on Sea Launch operations. Although the scope of this paper is limited mostly to the US law and the national security and environmental aspects of Sea Launch, it provides a useful example for policy making of an international collaborative technology development project.     

CHEOS Major Special Project Promotes Development of Chinese Commercial Remote Sensing Cameras

High resolution remote sensing data has been applied in many fields such as national security, economic construction and in the daily life of the general public around the world, creating a huge market. Commercial remote sensing cameras have been developed vigorously throughout the world over the last few decades, resulting in resolutions down to 0.31 m. In 2010, the Chinese government approved the implementation of the China High-resolution Earth Observation System(CHEOS) Major Special Project, giving priority to development of high resolution remote sensing satellites. More than half of CHEOS has been constructed to date and 5 satellites operate in orbit. These cameras have different characteristics. A number of innovative technologies have been adopted, which have led to camera performance increasing in leaps and bounds. The products and the production capability enables the remote sensing technical level to increase making it on a par with Europe and the US.     

WPKI技术的应用研究

信息已成为社会发展的重要战略资源，社会的信息化已成为当今世界发展的潮流和核心，而信息安全在信息社会中将扮演极为重要的角色，它直接关系到国家安全、企业经营和人们的正常生活。随着无线数据服务在商业中的应用，WPKI（Wireless Public Key Infrastrcture）作为实现无线网络安全的一种技术，在保障服务的安全性上显得尤为重要，以下将对WPKI技术的结构、实现原理、安全机制、应用模型以及在无线网络环境中的应用进行讨论，分析WPKI在WAP协议安全中的所起的作用，并对WPKI的应用前景进行了探讨。     

A European military space community: Reality or dream?

Europe is faced with several essential policy decisions with regard to the exploitation of space technology. Important issues are: the relations between civilian and military uses of outer space, employment opportunities, industrial and commercial interests, European security and international stability, regional and international cooperation. Concerted action is required for political reasons and in order to achieve the necessary scientific, technological and economic critical masses. Another major policy issue is, therefore, whether Europe should expand its space venture in the framework of a European military space community as proposed by France, through national or bilateral programmes, by participating in the US SDI research, or through NATO, the Independent European Programme Group, the Western European Union, or the European Space Agency.     

Spacecast 2020 — assessing US military needs in space

We present an edited version of the executive summary of Spacecast 2020, produced by the Air University, AL, a study done in compliance with a directive from the Air Force Chief of Staff to examine the capabilities and technologies for 2020 and beyond needed to preserve the security of the USA. Presented on 22 June 1994, this report was produced in the Department of Defense school environment in the interest of academic freedom and advancement of national defense-related concepts. The views expressed in this report are those of the authors and do not reflect the official policy or position of the United States Air Force, Department of Defense or the United States government.     

The USA and international competition in space transportation

This article discusses the crisis facing the USA in the formulation of its space transportation policy, within the context of its overall national space policy. The author examines developments in international space transportation from 1982 to 1992, and the failure of US policies to meet foreign commercial competition in space launches. Two goals have emerged from the US policy debate: to achieve assured access to space, and to reduce the costs of sending payloads to orbit. Both goals need to be faced within the context of a wider commitment by government and private industry to space investment.