Anti-Satellite Weapons: Are We Really Safe?

In 2006, the U.S. Air Force took a low risk approach to developing an alternate satellite system (AIRSS) for missile warning system that is more capable than the already existing and chronically troubled missile warning system. There were many struggles that were faced when the current system's satellites were built, however with the new system in mind, the military's primary focus is not going to be what the previous one was, which was trying to take advantage of technology that has not been proven effective in space, they are concentrating on the effort of continuity of missile warning coverage. The AIRSS program will provide strategic and tactical missile warning and missile defense beginning in 2015.

In April of this year, Northrop Grumman has been selected by the U.S. Air Force's Space and Missile Systems Center for a contract worth up to $21.9 million for research and development of this new missile warning system. Under the terms of the contract, Grumman's sector will provide planning for mission integration and software development for the ground based segment of the AIRSS flight demonstration system.

This is comforting to know that we are attempting to correct our errors and safely and efficiently detect missiles, however there are many different types of missiles; air to air missiles, anti ballistic missiles, anti satellite weapons, anti ship missiles, anti tank guided missiles, ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, intermediate range ballistic missiles, intercontinental ballistic missiles, submarine launched ballistic missiles, surface to air missiles, theatre ballistic missiles, tactical ballistic missiles, and wire guided missiles. Is this new AIRSS system going to be able to detect all of these missiles?

And if we are using satellites in order to assist in detecting these missiles, I think that we should definitely take in consideration the Anti-satellite weapons that are space weapons that are designed to destroy satellites for strategic military purposes. Currently only the USA, the former USSR, and the People's Republic of China are known to have developed these weapons. How are the satellites to warn us before they are being destroyed? Yes I know that there are a lot of satellites orbiting the geosynchronous belt, but sometimes it makes you think.

The current system for detecting missiles is the Space Based Infrared System or SBIRS. SBIRS was to include five dedicated satellites in geosynchronous orbit plus infrared sensors to be hosted by classified satellites operating in highly elliptical orbit, but after the cost rose from $2 billion to $10 million dollars there are no more than three of those satellites that were launched. Since there are three launched, that isn't really that many to detect a missile that it's purpose is to take out a satellite; and what better choice than to take out a satellite that is being used to detect missiles.

We have notification that the above said countries other than our USA have these types of missiles, but how many exactly do they have? If they have three, then there goes our defense system, unless there is some type of Plan B or back-up plan available for this kind of occurrence. It is alittle disturbing that we are willing to set up a $21.9 million dollar contract but can't spare another $10 million dollars to increase our safety.

The U.S., the Soviet Union, and China have all tested these anti satellite weapons in the past and there has been restrictions and congressional bans of using these weapons, all countries still retain the ability to disrupt satellite functions without disabling them, such as temporarily blinding them with ground based lasers or jamming their transmissions. There was word of the Bush administration deploying ground based missiles that will act as defense interceptors which are intended to allow it to track and home on an object, destroying it by direct impact. It is currently unclear what ground sensors will be part of the early deployment system.

I don't know about you, but this new found information is a little bit disturbing, especially when we have countries out there that are testing the ant-satellite weapons as we speak and we are not fully prepared to detect them properly.