Rebuilding America's Military
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SPECIAL REPORT NO. 245 | APRIL 27, 2021 Rebuilding America’s Military: The United States Space Force John Venable Rebuilding America’s Military: The United States Space Force John Venable SPECIAL REPORT No. 245 | APRIL 27, 2021 CENTER FOR NATIONAL DEFENSE II REBUILDING AMERICA’S MILITARY: THE UNITED STATES SPACE FORCE About the Author John Venable is Senior Research Fellow for Defense Policy in the Center for National Defense, of the Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for National Security and Foreign Policy, at The Heritage Foundation. The Rebuilding America’s Military Project This Special Report is the sixth in a series from the Rebuilding America’s Military Project of The Heritage Foundation’s Center for National Defense, which addresses the U.S. military’s efforts to prepare for future challenges and rebuild a military depleted after years of conflict in the Middle East and ill-advised reductions in both funding and end strength. The first paper in this series (Dakota L. Wood, “Rebuilding America’s Military: Thinking About the Future,” Heritage Foundation Special Report No. 203, July 24, 2018) provides a framework for understanding how we should think about the future and principles for future planning. The second (Dakota L. Wood, “Rebuilding America’s Military: The United States Marine Corps,” Heritage Foundation Special Report No. 211, March 21, 2019) discusses the current status of the U.S. Marine Corps and provides prescriptions for returning the Corps to its focus as a powerful and val- ue-added element of U.S. naval power. The third (Thomas W. Spoehr, “Rebuilding America’s Military: The United States Army,” Heritage Foundation Special Report No. 215, August 22, 2019) provides context and recommendations on how the U.S. Army should approach planning for future conflicts out to the year 2030. The fourth (John Venable, “Rebuilding America’s Military: The United States Air Force,” Heritage Foundation Special Report No. 223, March 26, 2020) examines the state, status, and mindset of today’s Air Force, evaluates critical aspects of the service, and recommends specific policies and actions that the Air Force needs to pursue to prepare itself for future conflicts out to the year 2040. The fifth (Brent Sadler, “Rebuilding America’s Military: The United States Navy,” Heritage Founda- tion Special Report No. 242, February, 18 2021) provides a road map for deployment of a fleet designed for great-power competition with China and Russia. It proposes a balance between readiness and forward presence, peacetime competition and warfighting, over the critical 2021–2035 time frame. This paper examines the impact of service concepts, doctrine, and plans to provide context for the state, status, and mindset of today’s Space Force. It then evaluates critical aspects of the service and recommends specific policies and actions that the Space Force needs to pursue to prepare itself for future conflicts. As an organization, the Space Force is evolving rapidly, and details associated with the number of personnel, active organizational components, and the like that were current at publication will certainly change during the coming months and years. This paper, in its entirety, can be found at http://report.heritage.org/sr245 The Heritage Foundation | 214 Massachusetts Avenue, NE | Washington, DC 20002 | (202) 546-4400 | heritage.org Nothing written here is to be construed as necessarily reflecting the views of The Heritage Foundation or as an attempt to aid or hinder the passage of any bill before Congress. SPECIAL REPORT | No. 245 APRIL 27, 2021 | III heritage.org Contents Executive Summary ..................................................................................................... 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 7 I. Background ............................................................................................................. 9 A. U.S. Department of Defense ........................................................................................ 9 B. Five Critical Years: 1957–1961 ...................................................................................... 10 C. Gaining Traction: 1962–1991 ....................................................................................... 12 D. U.S. Operational Dominance in Space ............................................................................ 12 II. Reorganization and Recognition of Space as a Warfighting Domain ................................ 14 A. Space Development Agency (SDA) .............................................................................. 14 B. Identifying the Pool of Space Personnel ......................................................................... 15 C. U.S. Space Command (USSPACECOM) ........................................................................... 15 III. USSF Organization ................................................................................................ 15 A. Space Operations Command ..................................................................................... 16 B. Space Systems Command ........................................................................................ 16 C. Space Training and Readiness (STAR) Command ................................................................ 17 D. Deltas and Garrisons ...............................................................................................17 E. Personnel ........................................................................................................... 18 F. Acquisition Reform ................................................................................................. 19 G. Funding ............................................................................................................ 19 IV. Current Capacity and Capability .............................................................................. 19 A. Backbone Satellite Constellations .................................................................................21 B. ISR Satellites ........................................................................................................21 C. Space Situational Awareness Systems ........................................................................... 23 D. Ground-Based Space Surveillance Systems ...................................................................... 24 E. Defensive Space Systems ......................................................................................... 28 F. Offensive Systems ..................................................................................................31 V. Space Doctrine ...................................................................................................... 33 VI. Spaceborne Assets in Other Services and Agencies ..................................................... 35 A. U.S. Army ........................................................................................................... 36 B. U.S. Navy ............................................................................................................37 C. National Reconnaissance Office .................................................................................. 38 VII. Civil and Commercial Space ................................................................................... 40 A. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ............................................................. 40 B. National Aeronautics and Space Administration .................................................................41 C. Commercial Space ................................................................................................. 42 IV REBUILDING AMERICA’S MILITARY: THE UNITED STATES SPACE FORCE VIII. Requirements and Acquisition ............................................................................... 45 IX. Requirements for the Future ....................................................................................47 X. Summary of Recommendations ............................................................................... 49 A. Organization ....................................................................................................... 49 B. Space Situational Awareness ..................................................................................... 50 C. Defensive Systems ................................................................................................. 50 D. Doctrine ............................................................................................................ 50 E. Requirements Development and Systems Acquisition ...........................................................51 XI. Conclusion ............................................................................................................51 Appendix I: Space Force Backbone Satellite Constellations ............................................... 53 Appendix II: Army Satellites ........................................................................................ 55 Appendix III: Navy Satellites ........................................................................................ 56 Appendix IV: Other Agency Satellites .............................................................................57 Endnotes ................................................................................................................. 59 SPECIAL REPORT | No. 245 APRIL 27, 2021