U.S. Military space policy officials have increasingly flagged a new role in protecting American property and interests in Earth-Moon space.
This evolving theory extends to the lunar surface, given by NASA Artemis program of crew lunar research And American companies plan to mine lunar resources like water ice.
What do astronomers say about extending military strategy to a new “high ground” domain outside Earth’s orbit? Space.com asked experts for their views on the evolving military theory on air, land and sea warfare strategies – and now it is heading to the deep sea.
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Challenges, contradictions and suffocation points
The U.S. military’s interest in the Earth’s moon was highlighted in a recent report, “State the Space Industrial Base 2020: A Time for Action to the U.S. Economic and Military Leadership in Space.”
July 2020 report, which you can find Here, Was based on a virtual workshop that brought together more than 150 thought leaders from industry, government and academia. The meeting was organized by New Space New Mexico, Defense Innovation Unit, Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and others. United States Space Force.
The summary report states that U.S. Faces big challenges and inflation points in the final range. In terms of space and the moon, the complex “choke points” need to be controlled.
“As geosynchronous space activities expand beyond orbit, Geo became the first nation to establish the transport infrastructure and logistics capabilities it serves. [geosynchronous Earth orbit] The Cecillar spacecraft will have the best ability to use control of Cicillar space and especially luggage points and lunar resources, the report said. “Luggage points There are gravitationally stable locations in space where probes can “park”, staying in place without spending more fuel.)
Race to the moon
Importantly, a recently published report observes it Lunar resources – Hydrogen and oxygen, especially those produced from ice, which can provide spacecraft propellants for civilian, commercial and national security applications – are key to accessing asteroid resources and Mars and enabling overall space commercial development.
“Today’s Race for the moon “There is little to do with flag hoisting and step signs,” the report said. Strategically, it is a race for a large wealth of lunar resources that will stimulate more space economies and enable future research and reconciliation in the solar system. “
Taking the findings of this report to a new level is next month’s first annual Sislunner Security Conference (CLSC) at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. “CLSC is a categorized platform on technology, G, policy, theory and strategy suggestions to ensure free access, transition and use of the Earth-Moon system beyond GEO.” Reads the conference website.
The winning concept
This month, AFRL’s Space Vehicles Directorate announced the winners of a competition to decide on the next set of flight experiments, one of which is the Space Domain Awareness Experiment all the way beyond the GEO. The moon. That winning concept is dubbed as CHPS, short for Sislunar Highway Patrol System.
David Buhler, program manager at AFRL, said the 21st century space economy is moving beyond traditional orbits to cut resources with commercial companies to the moon, and NASA and other countries are returning to the moon. “This increase in activity will require more domain awareness, which CHPS is trying to address.”
Related: NASA wants to buy lunar dirt from private companies
Power projection
“There is really a rethinking of space to move the empty LO forward [low Earth orbit] Namrata Goswami, an independent analyst specializing in space policy, said that the G.O.O. The speech shifts, she told Space.com.
From the point of view of space warfare, Goswami said, it is more possible to blind or damage a satellite in Gio or LO from a sizzling space than the Earth’s surface. “Countries are beginning to understand this crucial perspective, especially due to the growing reliance of modern warfare on LEO and GEO supported space command and control,” Goswami said.
What Goswami believes is that space power projection – through civil, military and commercial efforts – will go beyond the presence of satellites, Anti-satellite technology And the International Space Station to include a real-time presence on the lunar surface. “Once the permanent presence of the moon is achieved in the next decade or so, space thinkers, leaders, military space leaders will be forced to account for that new reality, whether they like it or not.”
Related: Concepts of the most dangerous space weapons ever
Space-centric culture
There is a lot of ongoing and planned activity, especially on or near the moon, outside the GEO. So, to some extent, it’s only natural that the U.S. military wants to focus more on that big patch of space, ”said David Burbach, a professor of national security at Naval War College College Lodge in Newport, Rhode Island.
Speaking in individual capacity, Barbach said that, in theory, spacecraft in the Sislore space could affect many Satellites May be related to lower Earth orbit or to military operations on Earth. So in that area the U.S. Except for the presence of more spacecraft is a change despite a small change.
“Organizationally, the whole issue of creating a separate service [the Space Force] “Space-centered culture was to be created, and it is natural that the new organization would want to take steps to separate itself from its parents and show that it is actively taking on new campaigns, and as an adversary, needs new resources,” Barbach said.
Given the increase in various types of Sislonar activity by multiple countries, “it is not surprising that the military organization wants to be able to know what is going on in the area of potential compatibility with their mission.”
New El Dorado?
Burbach said he believes that, institutionally, the U.S. The focus for the Space Force is on the GEO. Is gaining “space domain awareness” better than that – will be able to track and possibly listen to the distance to the moon, which is the current U.S. There are surveillance systems. Not ized to be optimized.
There are some people in the US space community who have envisioned the moon as a “new El Dorado”, a fabulous asset or a place of opportunity, said Barbach.
That wealth can come from mining Lunar water ice, Collecting helium-3 fuel for a nuclear reactor or moving our heavy industry to the moon. Therefore, some advocates have seen a near-term economic boom in the Sisyphean space, although Burbach and many other analysts doubt that this will happen in the next few decades.
And some voices support that, as the Navy protects foreign trade, or the U.S. The Army erected forts to protect wagon trains heading west in the 1800s, “U.S. companies and U.S. citizens won the lunar gold rush, and others pushed us aside and prevented our claims from jumping,” Burbach said. It is not clear how much of a role this logic plays in the thinking of the Department of Defense and the space force, he added.
Talk to talk
While NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstein, U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and other top officials have strongly endorsed the Trump administration’s deep space strategy, there is also acknowledgment of the leadership of the Missing Space or Space Defense Department.
Peter Garetson, an independent strategy adviser and independent strategy adviser on space and defense in the field of defense studies of the American Foreign Policy Council, has the same opinion.
“You think the Space Force will be a thoughtful leader here … but so far the Space Force has delegated such thought leadership to others, and has kept this away from their high-level talking point,” Garretts told Space.com.
Garrettson expects that “thinking boldly” and designing for the next 100 years will include a vision or strategy for Szlunner or a stimulus to the space economy or future space force recruitments. But so far that consideration has been made by innovative units outside the space force, he said.
Looking down or looking out?
“Is valid New space force theory U.S. in space The interests of are moving beyond Geo. Garrett said the matter is, U.S. There is a need to provide space security and commercial protection wherever there are citizens.
Right now Argument over military rank for space force, Garretts suggested, is also fundamental about whether the force should focus on looking down or out – including the lunar and sciatic.
“Those who want to focus on space resources and the development of the moon favor naval status, while those who want a space force favor the status quo as an overhead robotic monitoring force,” he said.
Desired: Dreamy thinking
Garretts said it will be interesting to see if the current pay generation of space force leadership, which has grown up within the Air Force’s earth-centered culture, will be able to enable visionary thinking in their stamp statements and then push for design guidance.
“Certainly many of us will use these criteria to grade those documents and statements. We are waiting to see if the space force leadership has in fact accepted the vision of Congress and the administration or just intends to keep the status quo. Continuing the Air Force Space Command.” And an Air Force puppet right, ”Garrettson added.
“We will know that we will make real progress when Sisluner becomes part of the headquarters-level documents, vision, strategy and testimony of Congress.”
Leonard David is the author of the recently published book, “Moon Rush: The New Space Race,” which was published in May 2019 by National Geographic. David, a longtime author of Space.com, has been reporting on the space industry for more than five decades. Follow us @speedotcom, facebook or google+. This version of the story published on space.com.
