Shot to the Space Brain: The Vulnerability of Command and Control of Non-Military Space Systems

摘要

The US military is becoming reliant on space systems. These systems provide us the essential information and communication means required to dominate the future battle-space. This reliance has extended beyond military programs, however, and now includes a reliance on commercial and civil systems. While this trend towards non-military systems is inevitable, does reliance on civil and commercial space systems create a unique center of gravity for the US military. This paper evaluates this issue by first identifying the need to use non-military systems and then developing a theory for analysis of realistic vulnerabilities of space systems. The focal point for this analysis is the command and control segment for a particular program. Four specific civil and commercial systems (Landsat, SPOT, Radarsat, and INTELSAT) are evaluated in light of this analysis. What results is an identification of system reliability based on the program drivers for a specific space system. The bottom line is that commercial and civil systems are more likely to solve vulnerability problems rather than create them.