Space Force Gen. Saltzman: Proliferated LEO Shows Mettle in Ukraine
Gen. B. Chance Saltzman is the Chief of Space Operations, United States Space Force speaks on April 19, 2023 at Space Symposium. Photo: Space Foundation
Proliferated Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) constellations for communications and other uses are demonstrating that they can endure and adapt to adversary assaults, such as jamming, the head of U.S. Space Force suggested on Oct. 18.
“We are seeing evidence that proliferated Low-Earth Orbit constellations are resilient against attack,” Chief of Space Operations Gen. B. Chance Saltzman said during a Center for A New American Security forum. “We are seeing it in Ukraine. There’s just evidence of it. We knew that to be the case, theoretically. It’s nice to get combat feedback that says we’re on the right path. We are investing heavily to take our ‘no fail’ missions like missile warning and nuclear command and control and making sure that we are putting together resilient architectures that create targeting problems that our current capabilities don’t have. We think that’s gonna not only be more resilient but have a deterrent effect on even trying to dismantle those missions.”
The inaugural Space Force budget request in fiscal 2021 was $15.4 billion, and this year’s fiscal 2024 request is $30 billion — a near doubling that Saltzman said is a reflection, in part, of the recognition by Congress of the need to protect space operations through “resilience.”
SpaceX‘s Starlink communications constellation in LEO has proven to be of significant value to Ukraine and its military forces, but SpaceX CEO Elon Musk’s geofencing limitation on Ukrainian military access to Starlink, depending on his whim, has raised eyebrows — concerns that Saltzman said he does not share.
“We write contracts with SpaceX, not Elon Musk,” Saltzman said. “We have several contracts in place with SpaceX that clarifies all of our intentions in the full spectrum of operations. I have no reason to believe the contracts wouldn’t be fulfilled completely. We’ve had plenty of discussions with multiple vendors along these lines, how does this work as we go through competition to crisis to conflict. We do expectation management. We put those details in the contract and then we expect that we’ll follow through, and I have no reason to believe we won’t.”
The new missile warning architecture is an example of the Space Force’s proliferated constellation push. The service’s fiscal 2024 budget zeroed research and development funding for one of the three planned geosynchronous orbit (GEO) Next Gen OPIR missile warning satellites by Lockheed Martin, as the Space Force posits that having a band of many, smaller satellites in lower orbits will complicate an adversary’s anti-satellite targeting and improve deterrence against adversary ballistic and hypersonic missile attacks.
On the launch side of the space “resilience” equation, last month’s VICTUS NOX demonstration points to rapid launches to replace damaged satellites or to respond to crises, Saltzman suggested on Oct. 18. In the launch, a Firefly Aerospace Alpha rocket lifted a Boeing Millenium Space Systems’ space domain awareness satellite into LEO.
“I’m so proud of VICTUS NOX,” he said. “This is gonna be one of those things that I think makes it in the history books when we look back at what the Space Force added.”
Unencumbered by the larger Department of the Air Force stable of non-space needs, Space Force was able to focus on the rapid launch — from warehouse to operational orbit in a week–and make it happen despite the “massive checklists” needed for launch, Saltzman said on Oct. 18.
“That’s tactically responsive space,” he said. “That’s something you can respond to irresponsible behavior on orbit, and the response is directly connected to that irresponsible behavior.”