{"id":2819,"date":"2023-04-13T02:02:51","date_gmt":"2023-04-13T07:02:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/?p=2819"},"modified":"2023-04-13T02:02:51","modified_gmt":"2023-04-13T07:02:51","slug":"spacecom-ops-head-tired-of-the-excuses-about-satellite-tracking-gaps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/?p=2819","title":{"rendered":"SPACECOM ops head \u2018tired of the excuses\u2019 about satellite tracking gaps"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Not happy with America&#8217;s ability to precisely track adversarial satellites, Maj. Gen. David Miller fumed, &#8220;Somebody&#8217;s got to figure this out. The American people have paid for this. Somebody&#8217;s got to deliver.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%20768%20432'%3E%3C\/svg%3E\" data-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/image-71.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"zeen-lazy-load-base zeen-lazy-load wp-image-2820\" width=\"768\" height=\"432\"\/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/image-71.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2820\" width=\"768\" height=\"432\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/image-71.png 768w, https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/image-71-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/image-71-293x165.png 293w, https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/image-71-390x219.png 390w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/noscript><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program \u2018neighborhood watch\u2019 satellites (Air Force Space Command archives)<br><br>WASHINGTON \u2014 US Space Command\u2019s urgent requirement for \u201ccoherent battle management\u201d capabilities and modern, computerized decision-making tools to keep real-time eyes on objects in orbit remains unfilled \u2014 much to the frustration of the command\u2019s top operations officer.<br><br>\u201cI\u2019m tired of the excuses. \u2026 I\u2019m not even interested to hear how hard it is anymore. It has to happen,\u201d Maj. Gen. David Miller, SPACECOM\u2019s director of operations, training and force development, said Wednesday.<br><br>What SPACECOM desperately needs is, in essence, access to an orbital map the emulates today\u2019s widely available interactive maps of the real-time whereabouts of ships at sea, he told reporters in the margins of the Mitchell Institute\u2019s Spacepower Security Forum.<br><br>Just like operators in other domains, space operators require a battle management, command, control, and communications (BMC3) system that can provide \u201ctargeting-quality predictions for where [something] will be in five minutes, to hand it off to somebody to do something about it,\u201d Milller said.<br><br>But right now, it\u2019s not a capability the Space Force can match in the heavens. Rather, surveillance depending mostly on ground-based radars and telescopes offers brief glimpses of space objects\u2019 flight from which computational models can extrapolate predicted paths. But Miller said he needs much better positioning information, much faster. Further, he said, commanders need artificial intelligence\/machine learning \u201cdecision support\u201d tools to aid commanders in sorting through incoming data.<br><br>One key reason that such a BMC3 capability doesn\u2019t exist is the continuing inability of\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/breakingdefense.com\/2022\/04\/seeing-in-the-dark-space-force-works-slowly-to-improve-monitoring-of-the-heavens\/\">Space Force\u2019s outdated computer systems<\/a>\u00a0to integrate data from myriad sources of space monitoring data, including from commercial firms, Miller explained. This is despite decades-long efforts, such as the ill-fated, billion dollar\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/breakingdefense.com\/tag\/joint-mission-system\/\">Joint Mission System<\/a>\u00a0program, to upgrade\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/breakingdefense.com\/tag\/space-situational-awareness\/\">space situational awareness<\/a>\u00a0information technology, he added.<br>\u201cSomebody\u2019s got to figure this out. The American people have paid for this. Somebody\u2019s got to deliver,\u201d he said.<br><br>That said, Miller noted that he is heartened by the fact the head of the Space Force\u2019s primary acquisition command, Gen. Michael Guetlein, has the issue at the \u201ctop\u201d of his mind and is working his staff hard to get capabilities to the field.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/breakingdefense.com\/tag\/space-systems-command\/\">Space Systems Command (SSC)<\/a>, he noted, is now focusing on rolling out improved capabilities over time via spiral development.<br><br>\u201cThey\u2019ve said, \u2018We\u2019re not going to let the perfect be the enemy of the good anymore,&#8217;\u201d Miller said.<br>SSC\u2019s\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/breakingdefense.com\/2019\/11\/gao-says-critical-space-c2-effort-at-risk\/\">Space Command and Control (Space C2)<\/a>\u00a0program, nicknamed Kobayashi Maru after the Star Trek franchise\u2019s fictional cadet training simulation without a solution, is in charge of those efforts.<br><br><strong>Keeping \u2018Custody\u2019 Also Requires New Sensors<br><\/strong><br>In his on-stage remarks during the Mitchell forum, Miller explained that SPACECOM\u2019s central concern is the current inability to keep \u201ccustody\u201d of adversary satellites and spacecraft on orbit \u2014 that is, to be able follow something in real time and know where it is at at any one time. This gap is all the more worrisome, he explained, because adversaries (read: Russia and China) are building on-orbit counterspace systems that can maneuver \u2014 meaning extrapolation won\u2019t cut it.<br>\u201cWe do not have the level of custody we need in order to provide a level of accuracy associated with \u2026 indications and warning, threat determination, hostile intent and then, ultimately if needed, the ability to target,\u201d he said.<br><br>Miller explained that, aside from the BMC3 woes, another foundational problem for maintaining custody of space objects is that there are not enough tracking sensors, either on the ground or in space.<br>The ground-based optical telescopes and radar making up the bulk of the Defense Department\u2019s\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/breakingdefense.com\/tag\/space-surveillance-network-ssn\/\">Space Surveillance Network<\/a>\u00a0were built largely during the Cold War to track incoming Soviet missiles and thus do not provide adequate coverage of the Southern Hemisphere.<br><br>\u201cIf my primary sensors are largely drawn from radar \u2026 around the continental United States, think about how much of the world doesn\u2019t have [coverage],\u201d Miller said.<br>Further, neither ground-based radar and telescopes, due to the laws of physics, can \u201csee\u201d satellites 24\/7. And even when data from those sensors are fused, there still is downtime when any given space object is out of view.<br><br>Thus, the information on space object whereabouts now provided to operators, Miller explained, \u201cis based off of observations in the past to predict likely orbital destination in the future\u201d via mathematical models \u2014 predictions that have uncertainties baked in \u201cbecause a lot can happen\u201d in between when something was last seen.<br><br>This is the reason SPACECOM is anxiously awaiting the development of new space-based sensors that can keep better tabs on maneuvering satellites and spacecraft, he noted.<br><br>Currently, the Space Force has only one such neighborhood watch constellation, the six-satellite\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/breakingdefense.com\/tag\/geosynchronous-space-situational-awareness-program\/\">Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program (GSSAP).<\/a>\u00a0But it has\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/breakingdefense.com\/2023\/02\/space-force-envisions-freight-trains-to-space-walmarts-on-orbit\/\">limited capabilities<\/a>\u00a0to stay up close and personal with maneuvering spacecraft.<br><br><strong>Space Force Investment<\/strong><br><br>Lt. Gen. Phillip Garrant, Space Force\u2019s head of strategy and resource planning, told the Mitchell Institute in an online session today that filling space tracking gaps is a \u201ccritical part of our budget investment\u201d in fiscal 2024.<br><br>The service is investing \u201cover $100 million\u201d in FY24 \u201ctowards space situational awareness, and the next step,<a href=\"https:\/\/breakingdefense.com\/tag\/space-domain-awareness-sda\/\">\u00a0space domain awareness,\u00a0<\/a>where we\u2019re not just tracking and [keeping] custody, but characterizing \u2026 anticipated behavior,\u201d he said.<br><br>Garrant said this includes funds for the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/breakingdefense.com\/tag\/deep-space-advanced-radar-capability-darc\/\">Deep Space Advanced Radar Capability (DARC),\u00a0<\/a>aimed at improving the ability to track satellites and dangerous space junk in geosynchronous orbit at the outer edge of Earth\u2019s orbit \u2014 including in the bright daytime when satellites usually elude radar. The end goal of the program is to host facilities at three sites: one in the Indo-Pacific, one in Europe and one in the United States.<br><br>\u201cDARC is a program that we\u2019re looking to work with our international partners on to put deep space radars in other parts of the world. Same thing with the ground-based optical telescopes, again, working with our international partners to really get after the access,\u201d Garrant said.<br><br>As for space-based sensors, Garrant pointed to the classified\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/breakingdefense.com\/tag\/silent-barker\/\">Silent Barker<\/a>\u00a0satellite that the Space Force is developing in tandem with the National Reconnaissance Office as one new space tracking capability.<br><br>\u201cSo, the [FY24] budget does show a considerable investment in all the orbital regimes in all parts of the globe, to get after the concern that [Miller] has with custody in all of his areas of interest,\u201d he said.<br><br><strong>Original Link:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/breakingdefense.com\/2023\/04\/spacecom-ops-head-tired-of-the-the-excuses-about-satellite-tracking-gaps\/\">https:\/\/breakingdefense.com\/2023\/04\/spacecom-ops-head-tired-of-the-the-excuses-about-satellite-tracking-gaps\/<\/a> <br><br><br><br><br><br><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Not happy with America&#8217;s ability to precisely track adversarial satellites, Maj. Gen. David Miller fumed, &#8220;Somebody&#8217;s got to figure this out. The American people have paid for this. Somebody&#8217;s got to deliver.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2819","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-threat-to-america"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2819","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2819"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2819\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2821,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2819\/revisions\/2821"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2819"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2819"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2819"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}