Subject: Satellite vulnerability in the news
From: thomsona@netcom.com (Allen Thomson)
Date: 1997/03/03
Message-Id: <thomsonaE6GvLp.5r9@netcom.com>
Newsgroups: sci.space.policy,alt.politics.org.cia
There have been some recent indications that the US is
starting to think seriously about the vulnerability of its
satellite systems. This is a refreshing departure from the late
Cold War's posture of inward-directed denial and deception. One
could hope that serious thought will lead to serious action
rather than to a repetition of the fiascos of the Reagan/Bush era.
U.S. Military Develops Plan To Protect Satellites
by Warren Fenster
Space News, February 17-23, 1997, pp. 6 & 26
[EXCERPTS]
The military control of space should become a top U.S.
national security priority because of the nation's growing
dependence on satellites that perform a huge array of vital
tasks ranging from missile targeting to economic transactions,
according to senior [DoD] officials.
Air Force Maj. Gen. Robert Dickman, the [DoD] space
architect, said Feb. 11 that a plan, or architecture for the
control of space should be presented in early March to the
Pentagon's Joint Space Management Board...
[There is a] need perceived by [CINCSPACE General Howell]
Estes and others... to protect U.S. military and civilian
satellites from enemy threats. Estes did not specify what
threats exist.
...[U.S.] military dependence on satellites will continue to
grow in the coming years, military officials say... Satellites
also provide services upon which the civilian world has come to
depend, including weather forecasting, air traffic control,
entertainment and commerce, Estes said.
Satellite vulnerability also could be an economic threat as
satellites are increasingly used for electronic commerce,
according to Robert Davis, the outgoing deputy under-secretary
of defense for space.
The United States operates 200 military and civilian
satellites with a combined value of about $100 billion,
Estes said.
Cruising the Web for other information on satellite
vulnerability, we find the following job ad on the TASC site.
The TASC Reston office which posted this notice is pretty
obviously oriented toward serving the NRO imagery office,
earlier the CIA's Office of Development and Engineering (ODE)
which was more or less congruent with the old NRO Program B.
TASC Job Opportunities
Reston, VA
TASC
12100 Sunset Hills Road
Reston, VA 22090
703-834-5000
To follow up on any of these opportunities, e-mail us at
opportunity@tasc.com
JOB TITLE: Space Systems Engineer
LOCATION OF POSITION: Reston, VA
MINIMUM EXPERIENCE:
MS degree in Engineering or Physics. Five (+) years
experience in Intelligence Community. Current EBI-SBI with poly.
Knowledge of space system design and operations.
Individual will examine all source analysis of the threats to
US space systems and assess system vulnerabilities. Develop and
assess effectiveness of countermeasures. Develop requirements
for the collection and analysis of intelligence. Support the
assessment of intelligence information and produce finished
intelligence products. Support the development of top level
briefings to customers. Develop expertise in advanced space
technologies.
On the face of it, someone in the NRO seems to be trying to
address the right questions. History, however, teaches that
caution is in order. (E.g., ODE's sponsorship of the Threat
Analysis Branch in the Space Systems Division of CIA's
Directorate of Intelligence in the nid-1980s) Power and money
can go a long way toward ensuring that the "right" analytical
conclusions are obtained.
It looks as if the military is in the lead as far as thinking
about satellite system vulnerabilities is concerned. The powers
at NRO, burdened by past errors and secrecy-induced detachment
from the world, are only now starting to realize that they may
have a problem; it remains to be seen whether they will address
it honestly. FWIW, the signs are that the Keith Hall
(currently the acting DNRO) regime is much more inclined to deal
with external reality than its predecessors were. We can hope.
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