Space Security Index
Space Security Index
Space Security Index
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
<strong>Space</strong> Support for Terrestrial Military Operations<br />
Periodic launches would follow every six months, leading to a functional capability by<br />
2014. 185 ISRO recently announced that the seven-satellite constellation had been increased<br />
to 11 satellites for the IRNSS system. 186<br />
<strong>Space</strong> <strong>Security</strong> Impact<br />
China’s and India’s increasing dual-use and military space-support activities could have<br />
mixed results for space security. On the one hand, the strategic value of space assets increases<br />
as actors engaged in competition with each other begin to rely more on space-based support.<br />
e development of competing systems, such as individual satellite navigation systems, could<br />
result from this dynamic. On the other hand, their increased participation in space also raises<br />
the value of policies that reduce the likelihood of conict in space. e growing roles of these<br />
countries as prominent space actors make space security discussions not only benecial but<br />
necessary.<br />
Trend 6.3: More states are developing military and multiuse<br />
space capabilities<br />
During the Cold War, states allied with either the U.S. or the USSR beneted from their<br />
capabilities. Today, declining costs for space access and the proliferation of space technology<br />
enable more states to develop and deploy military satellites. Until 1988, when Israel launched<br />
its rst, only the U.K., NATO, and China had joined the U.S. and USSR in launching<br />
dedicated military satellites. In 1995, France and Chile both launched dedicated military<br />
satellites. 187 Historically, military satellites not owned by the U.S. or Russia were almost<br />
exclusively intended for communications and imagery intelligence. Recently, however, states<br />
such as China, France, Germany, Japan, Italy, and Spain have been developing satellites<br />
with a wider range of functions. According to a recent report, security has become a key<br />
driver of established government space programs, pushing spending higher and encouraging<br />
dual-use applications. 188 Indeed, in the absence of dedicated military satellites, many actors<br />
use their civilian satellites for military purposes or purchase data and services from satellite<br />
operators. 189 Such activities contribute to the blurring of the divide between military, civilian,<br />
and commercial space assets and applications.<br />
Table 6.5: Minimum resolutions for remote sensing target identification (in meters) 190<br />
Target on the Ground Detection General<br />
Identification<br />
Precise<br />
Identification<br />
Technical<br />
Analysis<br />
Vehicles 1.5 0.6 0.3 0.045 Vehicles<br />
Aircraft 4.5 1.5 1.0 0.045 Aircraft<br />
Nuclear weapons<br />
components<br />
Rockets and<br />
artillery<br />
Command and control<br />
headquarters<br />
Target on the Ground<br />
2.5 1.5 0.3 0.015 Nuclear weapons<br />
components<br />
1.0 0.6 0.15 0.045 Rockets and<br />
artillery<br />
3.0 1.5 1.0 0.09 Command and control<br />
headquarters<br />
Europe<br />
European states have developed a range of space systems to support military operations, with<br />
France having the most advanced and diversied independent military space capabilities.<br />
While individual nations have pursued independent space capabilities for military support,<br />
129
Change language