Subject:      Satellite vulnerability in the news
From:        thomsona@netcom.com (Allen Thomson)
Date:         1997/03/03
Message-Id:   <thomsonaE6GvLp.5r9@netcom.com>
Newsgroups:   sci.space.policy,alt.politics.org.cia


   There have been some recent indications that the US is 
starting to think seriously about the vulnerability of its 
satellite systems.  This is a refreshing departure from the late 
Cold War's posture of inward-directed denial and deception.  One 
could hope that serious thought will lead to serious action 
rather than to a repetition of the fiascos of the Reagan/Bush era. 

    U.S. Military Develops Plan To Protect Satellites
    by Warren Fenster
    Space News, February 17-23, 1997, pp. 6 & 26
    [EXCERPTS]
       The military control of space should become a top U.S.
   national security priority because of the nation's growing
   dependence on satellites that perform a huge array of vital
   tasks ranging from missile targeting to economic transactions,
   according to senior [DoD] officials.
      Air Force Maj. Gen. Robert Dickman, the [DoD] space
   architect, said Feb. 11 that a plan, or architecture for the
   control of space should be presented in early March to the
   Pentagon's Joint Space Management Board...
      [There is a] need perceived by [CINCSPACE General Howell]
   Estes and others... to protect U.S. military and civilian 
   satellites from enemy threats.  Estes did not specify what 
   threats exist. 
   ...[U.S.] military dependence on satellites will continue to
   grow in the coming years, military officials say... Satellites
   also provide services upon which the civilian world has come to
   depend, including weather forecasting, air traffic control,
   entertainment and commerce, Estes said.
      Satellite vulnerability also could be an economic threat as
   satellites are increasingly used for electronic commerce,
   according to Robert Davis, the outgoing deputy under-secretary
   of defense for space.
      The United States operates 200 military and civilian
   satellites with a combined value of about $100 billion,
   Estes said.

   Cruising the Web for other information on satellite 
vulnerability, we find the following job ad on the TASC site.  
The TASC Reston office which posted this notice is pretty 
obviously oriented toward serving the NRO imagery office, 
earlier the CIA's Office of Development and Engineering (ODE) 
which was more or less congruent with the old NRO Program B. 

   TASC Job Opportunities
   Reston, VA 
   TASC
   12100 Sunset Hills Road
   Reston, VA 22090
   703-834-5000 
      To follow up on any of these opportunities, e-mail us at 
   opportunity@tasc.com
      JOB TITLE:               Space Systems Engineer
      LOCATION OF POSITION:    Reston, VA
      MINIMUM EXPERIENCE:
      MS degree in Engineering or Physics. Five (+) years 
   experience in Intelligence Community. Current EBI-SBI with poly. 
   Knowledge of space system design and operations. 
      Individual will examine all source analysis of the threats to 
   US space systems and assess system vulnerabilities. Develop and 
   assess effectiveness of countermeasures. Develop requirements 
   for the collection and analysis of intelligence. Support the 
   assessment of intelligence information and produce finished 
   intelligence products. Support the development of top level 
   briefings to customers. Develop expertise in advanced space 
   technologies. 


   On the face of it, someone in the NRO seems to be trying to 
address the right questions.  History, however, teaches that 
caution is in order. (E.g., ODE's sponsorship of the Threat 
Analysis Branch in the Space Systems Division of CIA's 
Directorate of Intelligence in the nid-1980s)  Power and money 
can go a long way toward ensuring that the "right" analytical 
conclusions are obtained. 

   It looks as if the military is in the lead as far as thinking 
about satellite system vulnerabilities is concerned.  The powers 
at NRO, burdened by past errors and secrecy-induced detachment 
from the world, are only now starting to realize that they may 
have a problem; it remains to be seen whether they will address 
it honestly.   FWIW, the signs are that the Keith Hall 
(currently the acting DNRO) regime is much more inclined to deal 
with external reality than its predecessors were.  We can hope.