[Infowarrior] - Space Defense Program Gets Extra Funding

[Richard Forno]

Space Defense Program Gets Extra Funding

By Walter Pincus
Monday, November 12, 2007; A19

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/11/AR2007111101
173_pf.html

While wrestling with wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Pentagon is preparing
weapons to fight the next battle from space, according to information in the
621-page, House-Senate conference report on the fiscal 2008 defense
appropriations bill.

The $459 billion bill, which awaits President Bush's signature, provides
$100 million for a new "prompt global strike" program that could deliver a
conventional, precision-guided warhead anywhere in the world within two
hours. It takes funds away from development of a conventional warhead for
the Navy's submarine-launched Trident Intercontinental Ballistic Missile and
from an Air Force plan for the Common Aero Vehicle.

The new program, dubbed Falcon, for "Force Application and Launch from
CONUS," centers on a small-launch-vehicle concept of the Defense Advanced
Research Projects Agency. The agency describes Falcon as a "a reusable
Hypersonic Cruise Vehicle (HCV) capable of delivering 12,000 pounds of
payload at a distance of 9,000 nautical miles from [the continental United
States] in less than two hours."

Hypersonic speed is far greater than the speed of sound. The reusable
vehicle being contemplated would "provide the country with significant
capability to conduct responsive missions with quick turn-around sortie
rates while providing aircraft-like operability and mission-recall
capability," according to DARPA.

The vehicle would be launched into space on a rocket, fly on its own to a
target, deliver its payload and return to Earth. In the short term, a small
launch rocket is being developed as part of Falcon. It eventually would be
able to boost the hypersonic vehicle into space. But in the interim, it will
be used to launch small satellites within 48 hours' notice at a cost of less
than $5 million a shot.

Conferees added $100 million above the Bush administration's request for
nearly $200 million to accelerate "space situational awareness." That is
code for protecting U.S. satellites in space and being able to attack the
enemy's satellites.

"Enhancing these capabilities is critical, particularly following the
Chinese anti-satellite-weapons demonstration last January," the conferees
wrote in their report. They were referring to a Jan. 11 incident in which a
Chinese guided missile destroyed an aging weather satellite in orbit.

"Counterspace systems" that would warn of impending threats to U.S.
satellites, destroy or defend against attackers, and interrupt enemy
satellites are in the Bush budget for $53 million. Conferees gave them
another $10 million.

One research project of $7 million in that category is directed at
"offensive counterspace," described in the Pentagon's presentation to
Congress as designing "the means to disrupt, deny, degrade or destroy an
adversary's space systems, or the information they provide."

Another $18 million would go for research into a second-generation
counter-satellite-communications system; it would explore and develop
capabilities "to provide disruption of satellite communications signals in
response to U.S. Strategic Command requirements," according to the Pentagon
congressional presentation. The first-generation system is already
operational, and an upgrade of those capabilities is in production.

The conferees want to increase funds for the Rapid Identification Detection
and Reporting System, which already had $28 million in the Bush budget. This
system is designed to provide "attack detection, threat identification and
characterization, and support rapid mission impact assessments on U.S. space
systems."

Its first-generation system is scheduled for initial operation at the end of
next year, while the new funds will allow continuation of research on a
second generation, which began this year.

Part of the funding will also go toward work on integrating this system,
which detects enemy threats to U.S. satellites, with the offensive
counterspace and counter-satellite-communications programs. Eventually, they
would be linked with U.S. command-and-control systems "in support of space
control and the counterspace mission areas," according to the Pentagon's
presentation to Congress.

Integration of these developing counterspace missions with a current
command-and-control system is expected by the middle of 2008, according to
documents provided to Congress.