Past, Present, Future: Satellites Become High Ground of Space Over Last 30 Years

摘要

The Army has had a prominent historical role in the development and use of Space capabilities. Many changes to Space organization and management have been proposed over the past few years, some of which are now being implemented. While these changes, for the most part, are beneficial, they are not without challenges and should be closely watched through their implementation. It can be expected that as the nature of warfare continues to change as it has in the last couple of years, we can expect that the reliance on Space capabilities will significantly rise. As this occurs we will see changing emphasis, new operational concepts, and differing organizational structures that will be needed to meet the changes of the future. The Army has not only a vested interest in the future of Space and Space management, but also a moral obligation to its warfighters to ensure that Space continues to evolve and meet its operational needs. To meet this obligation, the Army must know where it wants to go in Space, develop the road ahead, and advocate its concepts in every Space forum. This will require 'out-of-the-box thinking' on the part of our Space cadre and acceptance of new ideas and concepts in the various elements of our Space community. The most important aspect to successfully meet the challenges of the future is to have a holistic approach to Space throughout the Army. The challenge now facing the Army is to not regress into the development of stove-piped capabilities, but to support and participate in all facets of Space development to ensure future capabilities are relevant to warfighter needs. Army concepts and architectures must be integrated and reflect the relevance that the Army brings to the Space mission area.