August 15, 2006 :: Reuters :: News
General Kevin Chilton, who recently took charge the Air Force Space Command at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado, today predicted future attacks on U.S. satellites and called for the expanded tracking of foreign launches, reports
Reuters. Chilton noted that U.S. tracking efforts currently focus on determining if an overseas launch is a ballistic missile or designed to put an object in orbit, and then cataloging the launch over a period that often takes weeks. “I say those days are over,” he said. “If it’s a space launch, we can’t afford to relax.” He warned that U.S. satellites are increasingly vulnerable to attack, as foes naturally will want to deny the U.S. its current military and commercial advantages in space. “In the future, I’m convinced they’ll strike at these capabilities, if nothing else to attempt to level the playing field,” Chilton said, adding that the U.S. has a duty to secure “the entire space domain not just for our own military but for our allies and for the benefit of the free world.” To accomplish this, he said, the U.S. needs to increase its “situational awareness” and to gain the ability to take rapid defensive measures. “We need to know what the intent of that launch is,” he said. Chilton, in particular, recommended the development of new computer programs that would present easily digestible information on foreign launches to military commanders.
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