U.S. Seeks Global Cooperation on Outer Space

U.S. Seeks Global Cooperation on Outer Space

The Obama administration as early as Monday is expected to call for significantly greater international cooperation than ever before in outer space, covering a wide range of civilian and military programs.

The new policy, according to industry and government officials familiar with the details, also envisions stepped-up U.S. government efforts to bolster domestic rocket and satellite manufacturers, making them more economically viable and competitive overseas.

The principles, according to these officials, reflect President Barack Obama's desire to have Washington and various foreign governments increasingly share funding and expertise on major projects, while exchanging more data about orbiting debris and other hazards in space.

Breaking sharply from earlier White House policies that relied largely on all-U.S. solutions, the latest document envisions international ventures spanning everything from environmental and other types of earth-observation satellites to critical space-based navigation systems previously considered off-limits to foreign partnerships.

For the first time, Mr. Obama's space and national-security advisers have opened the door to possible international cooperation on the existing Global Positioning System, or GPS, satellite constellation.

Faced with mounting GPS program costs and escalating demands to transfer dollars from Pentagon space accounts to other U.S. defense programs, Air Force officials have been quietly mulling postponing some GPS satellite launches, according to people familiar with the details. The new policy, one Obama administration official said over the weekend, allows foreign navigation satellites "to augment but not replace" GPS capabilities. Europe is currently building its own independent navigation system, while Russian officials have talked about improving their rival system and perhaps teaming up with a foreign partner.

Months overdue, the policy document also aims to better coordinate the sprawling web of military, spy, and scientific satellite projects, along with NASA's manned and unmanned space exploration efforts.

Though many of the Pentagon's satellite programs are classified and show up primarily in so-called "black" intelligence budgets, by some estimates the U.S. government spends more than $100 billion a year on the full gamut of space endeavors. A series of high-level reports and studies over the years has criticized duplication and urged program and agency consolidations.

Monday's announcement is expected to steer clear of recommending specific bureaucratic shakeups. Rather, the policy paper presents a high-level, long-range view of ways to foster greater innovation among U.S. space companies, making make them more competitive globally.

As congestion increases in orbit and satellites become more vulnerable to collisions, interference and possible hostile acts, the policy also aims to harness military and commercial fleets to collaborate in providing better space situation awareness. Some of the points were first reported by Space News, an industry publication

It may be too late, however, to coordinate some important issues. The White House five months ago proposed that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration outsource some of its core functions to private space-transportation companies. The concept was developed without the benefit of a comprehensive and updated government-wide space policy.

Some Air Force officials complained at the time that they weren't consulted about NASA's revised priorities. Since then, Pentagon brass have agreed to support proposed NASA changes. That's partly because the Air Force stands to benefit from a total of roughly $2 billon in NASA funds the White House wants to shift to develop enhanced military rocket engines and for launch-site improvements in Florida.

The latest principles differ markedly from those announced four years ago under then-President George W. Bush. The 2006 policy rejected future diplomatic agreements that could limit U.S. flexibility in space, and asserted the right to punish any space entity deemed "hostile to U.S. interests." President Bush also stressed "assured access" to space on U.S. boosters. And he projected that by 2010, the Pentagon might be willing to choose a single heavy-lift rocket design.

The Bush plan sparked controversy on Capitol Hill and elsewhere by unilaterally rejecting arms control or international treaties outlawing offensive as well as defensive weapons in space.

The latest policy shifts stress cooperation across national borders. And now, the White House doesn't seek to identify a preferred rocket option, according to people familiar with the details.

Gen. Robert Kehler, the head of U.S. Space Command, made it clear earlier this year that the Pentagon wasn't ready to choose between its Atlas V and Delta IV launch systems. "We want to make sure we don't go off the track," he said, by prematurely selecting a single type of rocket. Both families of rockets are manufactured and launched by a joint venture between Boeing Co. and Lockheed Martin Corp.

Gen. Kehler also told journalists in April at a government-industry conference in Colorado that "we want to foster the growth of commercial activities" in space.

The White House is still waiting for completion of other military studies of U.S. space capabilities and vulnerabilities. The Pentagon's space ambitions are partly stalled due to budget pressures, which already have killed or curtailed proposed acquisition of some big-ticket satellite projects. Congressional opposition also has stalled NASA's proposed spending and strategic priorities.

The current White Hose stance on space security stresses the importance of all countries retaining free and undisputed access to space. Some industry official and outside policy analysts said the latest policy changes could set the stage for the White House to eventually embrace the concept of a global treaty barring deployment or use of weapons in space.