WASHINGTON — Despite the creation of the U.S. Space Force and increased attention on space as a critical domain for national security, the U.S. military is struggling to innovate in the crucial area of space domain awareness (SDA), experts said Aug. 26.
SDA, which encompasses the monitoring, tracking, and identification of objects in Earth orbit, remains largely confined to basic cataloging functions, falling short of the predictive and analytical capabilities needed in an increasingly congested and contested space environment, said retired U.S. Space Force general John Shaw, a former deputy commander of U.S. Space Command.
Speaking at a SpaceNews webinar titled “Space: The Next Frontier of Strategic Competition,” Shaw lamented a lack of significant progress in SDA techniques.
“We still have a capability lag,” Shaw stated, noting that despite five years of discussion about improving SDA since the establishment of new military space organizations, “the capability that’s being delivered to Space Command today isn’t significantly different from what existed five to seven years ago.”
Shaw likened current SDA efforts to “searching for our keys under a streetlight,” suggesting that the military is focusing on easily accessible data rather than tackling the more challenging aspects of space monitoring. He emphasized the need to move beyond simple cataloging to “dynamic tracking of hard to detect and track targets in non-standard orbits.”
At the same time, Space Force leaders have stressed the critical nature of SDA for national security. As space becomes more crowded with both active satellites and debris, and as potential adversaries develop anti-satellite capabilities, the ability to accurately track and predict the behavior of objects in orbit becomes increasingly vital, officials said.
Brian Weeden, systems director at the Aerospace Center for Space Policy and Strategy, provided historical context for the current challenges. He noted that over the past decade, there have been multiple attempts to shift focus from simple “space surveillance” to a more comprehensive “space situational awareness” and now “space domain awareness.” However, these nomenclature changes have not resulted in the desired cultural and capability shifts.
“Here we are 10 years later and there’s been another name change from space situational awareness to space domain awareness, getting at the same exact question: How do we get beyond just tracking things in space?” Weeden remarked.
He pointed out that fundamental challenges in catalog maintenance and orbital tracking persist, even as the military faces new demands to monitor an expanding sphere of operations, including cislunar space.
The root of the problem may lie in a combination of technical challenges and cultural inertia, Weeden suggested. Despite two directed nomenclature changes aimed at shifting the military’s approach to space monitoring, neither has resulted in the hoped-for cultural transformation or capability leap.
Slow shift to Commerce
Complicating the U.S. military’s SDA challenges is an ongoing transition of responsibilities mandated by a 2018 presidential directive. This directive requires the Department of Defense to transfer the task of maintaining the authoritative catalog of space objects to the Department of Commerce’s Office of Space Commerce.
The transition, aimed at freeing up military resources and fostering innovation through civilian management, has progressed more slowly than initially anticipated.
The Office of Space Commerce, while preparing to take on this crucial role, faces its own set of challenges. These include developing the necessary technical infrastructure, and establishing the regulatory framework needed to manage an increasingly complex space environment.
