HOT TOPIC from Strategic Space and Defense 2007 -- Operationally Responsive Space

The first day of the 24th National Space Symposium closed with a panel moderated by Lt. Gen. William L. Shelton, on the topic of Operationally Responsive Space (ORS). The panelists discussed the definition of ORS, as a concept that involves responsive satellite payloads; inexpensive launch vehicles and range procedures; common technical standards for satellite buses; and an operations, command and control structure that permits the warfighter to exploit the advantages offered by space. The panel set forth some of the requirements for ORS, such as the need for the data dissemination architecture to be defined at an early design stage, rather than being an afterthought once hardware has been deployed.

In terms of organizational structure, space was compared to the air domain, where it is often wasteful to subdivide the zone of operations into tiny compartments. The global nature of space was stressed; for instance, when a combatant commander requests satellite coverage over a particular area, the satellite’s orbit carries it over many other regions which may be of interest to other commanders, if there was a way for them to make use of it.

On the commercial side of the issue, it was noted that the amount of time spent on a launch range is a vital concern to small companies, as range time is very expensive. This means that operations need to be carried out as quickly and smoothly as is humanly possible. In addition, since many of the techniques and technologies involved in ORS are highly experimental, government customers need to be risk-tolerant in their dealings with the commercial companies who are pushing the boundaries of knowledge. The fact that ORS is a long-term project was highlighted by a question from the audience regarding how the government would know when ORS had achieved its aims. The response was that ORS would have been achieved once combatant commanders were no longer able to say that they could not get access to the space products they needed.