Space Surveillance Network: New Way Proposed To Support
Commercial and Foreign Entities (07-JUN-02, GAO-02-403R).
Government, commercial, and foreign entities rely almost
exclusively on information generated by the United States space
surveillance network to reduce the risk of space collisions when
launching and operating their respective space missions. The
network is maintained and operated by the Air Force Space
Command; surveillance data is processed and an unclassified
portion is sent to the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA) and made available to users. Currently, the
Air Force Space Command is proposing a pilot study to replace the
current NASA arrangement with one using a Federally Funded
Research and Development Center (FFRDC). The study would test the
FFRDC's ability to support commercial and foreign entities with
space surveillance information and to ensure there is a
sufficient market for the data. If the study is approved by the
Air Force and Department of Defense, and if authorizing
legislation is enacted that includes providing space surveillance
support to foreign and commercial entities as part of DOD's
mission the study will begin in about one year.
-------------------------Indexing Terms-------------------------
REPORTNUM: GAO-02-403R
ACCNO: A03529
TITLE: Space Surveillance Network: New Way Proposed To Support
Commercial and Foreign Entities
DATE: 06/07/2002
SUBJECT: Classified defense information
Information disclosure
Military intelligence
Space exploration
Government information dissemination
DOD Space Surveillance Network
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GAO-02-403R
Page 1 GAO- 02- 403R Space Surveillance Network
United States General Accounting Office Washington, DC 20548
June 7, 2002 The Honorable Christopher Shays Chairman, Subcommittee on
National Security,
Veterans? Affairs, and International Relations Committee on Government
Reform House of Representatives
Subject: Space Surveillance Network: New Way Proposed To Support Commercial
and Foreign Entities
Dear Mr. Chairman: Government, commercial, and foreign entities rely almost
exclusively on information generated by the United States space surveillance
network to reduce the risk of space collisions when launching and operating
their respective space missions. The network is maintained and operated by
the U. S. Space Command within the Department of Defense (DOD); 1
surveillance data is processed and an unclassified portion is sent to the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and made available by
NASA to users.
The subcommittee expressed concerns about the growing commercial and foreign
demand for space surveillance information and asked us to determine how DOD
is planning to provide space surveillance information in the future. In
summary, we found that DOD has considered several options for providing this
support. Currently, the Air Force Space Command is proposing a pilot study
that would replace the current NASA arrangement with one using a Federally
Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC) . 2 The study would test the
FFRDC?s ability to support commercial and foreign entities with space
surveillance information and to ensure there is sufficient market for this
data. The Air Force Space Command proposes to commence the pilot study in
about 1 year, if approved by the Air Force and DOD and if authorizing
legislation is enacted that includes providing space surveillance support to
foreign and commercial entities as part of DOD?s mission. In its written
comments on a draft of this letter, DOD emphasized that the Air Force must
resolve concerns
1 The U. S. Space Command is supported by three component commands: Air
Force Space Command (which provides the majority of the support); Navy Space
Command; and Army Space Command. 2 FFRDC activities are sponsored under a
broad charter by a government agency for the purpose of
performing, analyzing, integrating, supporting, and/ or managing basic or
applied research and/ or development; FFRDCs receive 70 percent or more of
their financial support from the government; most or all of the facilities
used for FFRDC activities are owned or funded by the government; and the
FFRDC has special access to government data, employees, and facilities.
GAO- 02- 403R Space Surveillance Network Page 2 expressed by the other
services and space agencies related to public release of the
space surveillance data and asked the Air Force to provide a formal
recommendation and data control plan by September 2002. NASA had no comments
on a draft of this letter.
Background
DOD uses the U. S. space surveillance network 3 to track active and inactive
satellites and space debris generated from launch vehicles and satellite
breakups, and the agency catalogs and provides these data to DOD
organizations, U. S. government agencies, and commercial and foreign
entities to ensure safe and effective operations. The network has been
tracking space objects since 1957, when the former Soviet Union launched
Sputnik. DOD also relies on the space surveillance network for warning when
a foreign satellite becomes a threat to military operations and for
information to support responsive measures.
The network collects and processes the space surveillance data and sends an
unclassified portion to NASA?s Goddard Space Flight Center. The data sent to
NASA are combined with a small amount of NASA?s own data and made available
to users without charge on a NASA website. NASA provides information at
various levels of detail. This ranges from general space surveillance data
accessed by recreational space enthusiasts who register for access- which
resulted in over 100,000 ?hits? to the web site per month in 2001- to much
more specific and extensive data accessed only by twenty- one registered
?super users.? Some users request even more extensive data and analysis;
NASA reviews and forwards these requests to the U. S. Space Command for
further analysis. Currently, NASA spends about $200, 000 annually to provide
space surveillance support through its Web site.
Air Force Space Command Proposes to Pilot Test a New Approach to
Disseminating Space Surveillance Data
DOD has been actively considering changing the mechanism for providing space
surveillance data for over two years. Consideration of a new approach began
with a January 10, 2000, Deputy Secretary of Defense memorandum that
directed the Air Force to coordinate with the other services and space
agencies to study alternatives for providing space surveillance support to
commercial and foreign entities. Currently, the Air Force Space Command is
proposing to pilot test a new process for providing space surveillance data
and services using its FFRDC contracts with the Aerospace Corporation and
the Massachusetts Institute of Technology/ Lincoln Laboratory rather than
through NASA. Both companies are already working on- site with space
surveillance network data and providing information to DOD and other
customers.
3 The space surveillance network is composed of over forty optical and radar
sensors, located worldwide, and connected through four command and control
facilities. It costs the Air Force about $60 million a year to operate the
space surveillance network.
GAO- 02- 403R Space Surveillance Network Page 3 Air Force Space Command
officials believe that using an FFRDC meets DOD
objectives in the most timely, stable, and predictable manner. Specifically,
Air Force Space Command officials believe that this will help them:
* maintain space situational awareness- a key Air Force responsibility;
maintain control over processes and data dissemination;
determine if providing support to a foreign entity is in the best
interests of national security; and
eliminate a layer of management and decrease risk and complexity by having
FFRDC representatives already on site.
Since FFRDC personnel possess specialized and technical space surveillance
expertise, Air Force Space Command officials believe they could use these
capabilities and competencies to explore how to streamline current processes
and develop new tools and procedures required to support commercial and
foreign entities, to create opportunities for cooperative research
arrangements with commercial companies, to recommend policy and
organizational changes for commercial and foreign- entity support, and to
recommend how best to provide these services. For example, the pilot test is
expected to provide knowledge about the technology needed to best analyze
the space surveillance data and receive, screen, and disseminate the data to
requesting entities.
To test their pilot approach, an Air Force Space Command official estimated
that it will cost from $1.53 million to $1.84 million per year. Part of the
design for the pilot test calls for gathering exact cost data. Although the
pilot study cost estimate is higher than current NASA costs, the Air Force
Space Command expects that it will be getting additional services from the
FFRDC. For example, it expects to receive additional studies and analysis
and an assessment of the best way to provide space surveillance support in
the future.
The Air Force Space Command must gain Air Force and DOD approval to move
forward with this proposal. In September, Air Force headquarters officials
plan to review the proposal and then decide whether to present it to DOD for
approval. In addition to considering the cost and design aspects presented
above, two other key considerations will likely affect the Air Force?s
decision.
First, the Air Force needs agreement from other U. S. government and DOD
agencies before it can move forward with its plan. One DOD intelligence
agency expressed concerns with the specifics of the Air Force Space
Command?s approach. First, this agency believes that the space surveillance
data needs to remain under strict government oversight. The Air Force Space
Command plan for implementing the pilot study involves sending the raw data
to the FFRDC contractor?s office rather than bringing the contractors into
government facilities to do the work, a move that could affect the
government?s ability to control the data. The agency also expressed a
concern with making space surveillance information publicly available; as a
consequence, a description of products available and associated
classification information will be coordinated with the services and U. S.
government space agencies. Finally, the agency has resource concerns with
using an FFRDC to do this work. According to the DOD intelligence agency,
the Air Force will need to resolve
GAO- 02- 403R Space Surveillance Network Page 4 these issues with the other
services and space agencies before beginning the pilot
program. Air Force Space Command officials told us that they are working
with the other services and space agencies to resolve these concerns.
Second, if approved, Air Force Space Command officials stated that the pilot
could not commence until authorizing legislation is enacted making
disseminating space surveillance data to commercial and foreign entities
part of their mission. Air Force Space Command officials are currently
drafting this legislation in anticipation of an Air Force and DOD decision
and estimate that at a minimum, the preparation and enactment of authorizing
legislation could take at least a year.
Air Force Space Command officials are recommending that, as part of the
authorizing legislation, DOD seek language that will allow it to charge
commercial and foreign entities for the support if it is deemed appropriate.
While DOD does not charge for space surveillance support or data and the Air
Force Space Command has no plans to charge for this information during the
pilot test, the Air Force Space Command is including cost recovery language
in the legislation they are drafting so that if a decision is made to
recover costs in the future, DOD will already have legislative approval. Air
Force Space Command officials told us that if a decision is made to recover
costs, they would review what it costs to provide the service and what price
they would charge the users. Gathering and analyzing this cost and pricing
information may occur during the pilot test.
Agency Comments
DOD provided written comments on a draft of this letter. In its comments,
DOD pointed out that in response to a tasking from the Deputy Secretary of
Defense regarding the Space Control Broad Area Review, the Air Force began
building a plan for distribution and control of space surveillance data for
commercial and foreign entities. According to DOD, this plan, as yet
incomplete, must resolve concerns of the other services and U. S. government
space agencies related to public release of the data. The Assistant
Secretary of Defense for Command, Control, Communications, and Intelligence
requested the Secretary of the Air Force provide a formal recommendation and
data control plan by September 2002. DOD also stated in its comments that
since the Air Force has not yet completed or submitted a proposal, its views
do not represent an established position of the Department of Defense. DOD?s
comments are included in this report as a separate enclosure.
We also provided NASA with a draft of this letter, but NASA had no comments.
Scope and Methodology
To understand DOD's plans for modernizing the space surveillance network ,
supporting commercial and foreign entities, implementing a pilot program,
and charging commercial and foreign entities, we held discussions with and
obtained documentation from DOD officials at the U. S. and Air Force Space
Command, Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado Springs, Colorado; the Office of
the Secretary of the Air Force, Rosslyn, Virginia; and the Space Programs
Directorate, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Command,
Control, Communications, and Intelligence, Arlington, Virginia. We also
discussed the Air Force?s proposal with a
GAO- 02- 403R Space Surveillance Network Page 5 DOD intelligence agency. In
addition, we held discussions with Army and Navy
Space Commands to discuss their role in space surveillance. We obtained and
reviewed documents on DOD's and its military components' space policies, the
Space Surveillance Task Force preliminary assessment, military components'
master plans for space, the space surveillance handbook, space surveillance
guidance and instructions, and various Air Force briefing documents on the
space surveillance network.
We conducted our work from May 2001 through May 2002 in accordance with
generally accepted government auditing standards.
We are sending copies of this letter to the Chairmen and Ranking Minority
Members of the Senate Committees on Appropriations, Armed Services, and
Governmental Affairs and the House Committees on Appropriations, Armed
Services, and Government Reform. We will also send copies to the Secretary
of Defense and the Administrator of NASA. We will make copies available to
others upon request. In addition, the letter will be available at no charge
on the GAO Web page at http:// www. gao. gov.
If you have any questions or need additional information, please call me at
(202) 512- 4841. Major contributors to this letter are James Solomon, Marie
Ahearn, Cristina Chaplain, Maria Durant, Sigrid McGinty, and Bob Swierczek.
Sincerely yours, R. E. Levin Director Acquisition and Sourcing Management
Enclosure( s) (120119)
Enclosure I Enclosure I GAO- 02- 403R Space Surveillance Network Page 6
Enclosure II Enclosure II GAO- 02- 403R Space Surveillance Network Page 7
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