The Evolution of Military (U.S) Role in Space

The military (United States) role in space is continually evolving for reasons that include the growth in space capabilities outside of the Department of Defense (DoD) and the severe budget pressures in the department.
During the Cold War in Europe, commercial communications satellites (Comsats) were procured by government-backed consortia. Today, highly capable imaging satellites are being developed either by private corporations or by the government. Countries around the world like Russia has developed and already utilizing Comsats.


Technology advances, proliferation, and market forces have blurred the dividing line between the national security and commercial sensing systems. These trends will likely lead to a global commercial market for high-resolution imagery. The Global Positioning System (GPS) is one of the systems developed useful to users seeking ways of obtaining high-accuracy navigation services. In the future systems like GPS will be widely used by many people around the world. The military (US) is among them.

A growing roster of countries will acquire sensing satellites in the coming decade. More countries and transnational groups will gain access to satellite imagery made possible by commercial firms. This can be either through the Internet or bilateral intelligence-sharing agreements. These sensing satellites are very important in intelligence gathering. If imagery is collated and analyzed in almost real time, it could provide near-real-time targeting and situation awareness data like location of mobile military targets. A good example of this military value of imagery data was shown in the movie” The Enemy of State. However, the value of imagery also depends on satellite resolution. Many countries today have imagery satellites that are able to clearly detect many types of military targets. Because of this, many countries can obtain imagery of denied areas in neighboring countries and will be able to target fixed facilities around the world. Thus the technology will obtain near-real time imagery of the battlefield and most possibly near-real-time targeting data that could be used to target GPS guided weapons.


A long-term strategy should be ensured by the government in order for the country to have a secure access to the technologies. Possible collateral damage should be looked upon – it can be commercial, or civil. This should be done with the caution of not violating existing arms control treaties. If the military (US) can have an effective space control the country can easily gain control on its peace and security. This is essential to the global campaign against terrorism.
The American people had suffered because of terrorists attacks and other countries around the world had been producing systems to counter such violent attacks. Emerging commercial space capabilities will provide the military (US) forces with significant innovative proficiencies and can augment military systems. In great demand systems like military satellite communication systems will bring advance the military’s role in maintaining peace and security in the country.

Can this new role of the military (US) in space can prevent catastrophic event such as 9/11? Possibly. That is why it is very important for the government to push through developing projects on space and imagery technology. “Weaponization” of space should be a product of technology and strategic military operations. It must come hand in hand. And it should be confined to intelligence, communications and navigation functions as well as the offensive and defensive systems of the military.