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Kehler: U.S. must continue to invest in space
March 31st, 2009 | National Space Symposium | Posted by Michael Hoffman
Despite the economic downturn Air Force Space Command chief Gen. Robert Kehler told an audience of military and space industrial leaders that investments and growth must continue in U.S. space and cyberspace capabilities.
He said the February collision of two satellites and the increasing cyber threat to core U.S. military capabilities have highlighted how U.S. leaders must not lose focus when it comes to space.
Kehler challenged both the Air Force and the space industry to transform the acquisition process of space assets after years of Air Force space projects being delivered late and over budget.
Meanwhile, the downward trend in the U.S. space industrial based has left Air Force leaders worried about the long term health of a U.S. space industrial base the Air Force continues to depend on, Kehler said.
Where the Air Force will see improvements is from the addition of the cyberspace mission to Air Force Space Command over this coming year. He said Air Force Space Command airmen are uniquely suited to take on this mission since space and cyberspace are so interrelated.
“There is lots of room for discovery once we bring cyber space into space command,” Kehler said.
Tags: Air Force Space Command, cyberspace, Gen. Robert Kehler, National Space Symposium, space
Tracking whats above
March 31st, 2009 | National Space Symposium | Posted by Michael Hoffman
The Air Force wants to more than double how many satellites it can track by Oct. 1, said Col. Dusty Tyson, chief of the Air Force space control division.
Air Force Secretary Michael Donley, Air Force Space Command chief Gen. Robert Kehler and U.S. Strategic Command Gen. Kevin Chilton all met inside the Pentagon with CEOs from the ten top satellite companies on March 24 to discuss how the U.S. and the satellite industry can cooperate and reach this goal.
A collision between a Russian and U.S. satellite in February brought national attention to the crowd of satellites and debris floating in Earth’s orbit.
Officials want to increase the number of maneuverable satellites the Air Force tracks from 330 to 800, Tyson said.
Tags: Gen. Kevin Chilton, Gen. Robert Kehler, National Space Symposium, satellite, Secretary Michael Donley