Space: Defending the Space Satellite Fleets

Archives

September 26, 2005: With China openly establishing an organization for disabling or destroying “enemy” space satellites, the pressure is on the U.S. Air Force, and its Space Command, to defend over a hundred American military satellites, and over two hundred commercial satellites that the Pentagon depends on as well. Earlier this year, the Space Command established RAIDRS (Rapid Attack Identification Reporting System) for detecting interference with U.S. communications satellites (military and commercial), and then locate where on the planet the interference is coming from. The 76th Space Control Squadron has mobile teams that can use electronic jamming equipment to block signals going to space satellites. The Space Command is trying to get money to build killer satellites, that will destroy enemy satellites, especially enemy killer satellites. China has put about a hundred satellites into orbit in the last decade, and some of them may be dry runs for killer satellites.

The U.S. Air Force Space Command has 40,000 personnel (26,000 military and civilians, plus 14,000 contractors), in addition to military satellites, ground based ICBMs and all military satellite design, construction and launching. Some 500 Space Command people went with the troops to the Middle East to help handle communications with the various satellites. Space Command was set up in 1982 when it was realized that there were a growing number of space based programs and it made sense to put them all in the same organization.

 


Article Archive

Space: Current 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 


X

ad
0
20

Help Keep Us Soaring

We need your help! Our subscription base has slowly been dwindling. We need your help in reversing that trend. We would like to add 20 new subscribers this month.

Each month we count on your subscriptions or contributions. You can support us in the following ways:

  1. Make sure you spread the word about us. Two ways to do that are to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
  2. Subscribe to our daily newsletter. We’ll send the news to your email box, and you don’t have to come to the site unless you want to read columns or see photos.
  3. You can contribute to the health of StrategyPage. A contribution is not a donation that you can deduct at tax time, but a form of crowdfunding. We store none of your information when you contribute..
Subscribe   Contribute   Close