Protection in Space: A Self-Defense Acquisition Priority for U.S. Satellites

Publisher Marketing: America is critically reliant upon space exploitation for a wide variety of activities. These range from strictly military capabilities such as intelligence gathering and secure communications to civilian financial transaction timing and remote Earth sensing for environmental analysis. Recent developments in anti-satellite technologies signal a dangerous threat to U. S. space dominance. Specifically, zero-warning threats such as ground-based lasers or direct-ascent kinetic-kill vehicles present the biggest challenge for which there is little or no defense. Until recently, the U. S. had been reasonably secure that its satellites were free from disablement. Unfortunately, many adversary nations acquired anti-satellite technologies and proliferated them; threatening permanent disablement of almost any American satellite. This monograph surveys available unclassified literature to assess current and emerging threats to U. S. satellites and evaluates open source defenses available, ranging from policy mechanisms to physical defenses. The level of protection is wanting and the monograph reviews various promising technologies in development currently that could be obtained to defend U. S. satellites in the timeframe commensurate with the proliferation and risk of anti-satellite threats. An advocacy suggesting that increased national resources and efforts be devoted to protecting Low-Earth Orbiting satellites from zero-warning attacks is proposed.