3.14 Space/Upper Atmosphere Environment
Information superiority relative to the space/upper atmosphere environment is required in order to maintain control of the "high ground" during all levels of engagement. Inadequate knowledge of the space environment, in which and through which DoD must operate, jeopardizes the safety and effectiveness of warfighting units. At the same time, the possibility that the enemy is using electronic warfare places a high demand on DoD systems to distinguish hostile actions from naturally occurring events and to respond accordingly. The increased specification, mitigation, and exploitation techniques associated with the space/upper atmosphere environment subarea goals will be major contributors to Information Superiority, Joint Theater Missile Defense, and Electronic Combat technology areas.
The key objectives are to provide the warfighter with superior knowledge, tactics, and capabilities. Recognized communications deficiencies in recent warfighter engagements (i.e., Panama, Bosnia, and the Persian Gulf) have identified the need for improved C3I battlespace specifications. Requirements for C3I specifications are now an integral part of the CONOPS for GPS and AFSATCOM. Improved filter specifications and clutter-suppression algorithms are needed to optimize the performance of military satellite surveillance systems, specifically the Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS). Overall, the increased military dependence on space operations makes it imperative that DoD space systems function reliably irrespective of natural space environment disturbances. In this regard, the Air Force has predicted that the approaching solar maximum may lead to significant adverse operational impacts unless precautionary measures are undertaken. The objectives of the space/upper atmosphere environment subarea, once satisfied, will provide the warfighter with superior capabilities to assess and exploit the space and upper atmosphere environments.
Because DoD is committed to using space assets in the future for such important mission areas as communication and surveillance, it is necessary to accumulate a detailed knowledge of the space environment and how it impacts the performance of typical DoD systems that must operate there in continuous, reliable service. Many measurements have been made of the space environment; however, few measurements are available to DoD on a real-time continuous basis. The impulsive, dynamic, often disruptive nature of the space environment must be measured in a standardized, disciplined manner that parallels weather measurements made in our lower atmosphere by meteorological services throughout the world. The long-term goal of this subarea is to operationally deploy a series of validated space environmental models that will provide DoD with accurate, reliable predictions by FY07.
3.14.2.1 Goals and Timeframes. The technologies developed within this subarea are directed toward specifying and exploiting those space and upper atmosphere environmental conditions that limit the effectiveness of military systems. The goals and timelines (Table VII-15) have been specified within existing fiscal constraints to demonstrate that warfighter information superiority in this subarea results in dominant warfighting capabilities. Understanding the steady-state conditions and the dynamics of the space and upper atmosphere environment are critical for the design and operation of DoD space systems, military communication networks, and IR target signatures/surveillance imaging.
| Fiscal Year | Goal |
|---|---|
| FY98 | 75% improvement in localized communications connectivity specification for the Mid East region. 25% improvement in IR sensor accuracy for atmospheric, cloud, and terrain backgrounds. 100% decrease (elimination) of spacecraft charging hazards using charge control techniques. |
| FY01 | 80% improvement in prediction accuracy of C3 outages using space-based sensor system. 50% improvement in target-image reconstruction using clutter suppression techniques. 25% decrease in technology insertion time for new space power systems. |
| FY03 | 95% improvement in global C3I specification by fusing ground and space data. 80% improvement in radar target geolocation and target-image reconstruction. 95% increase in satellite anomaly prediction and space environmental mitigation. |
3.14.2.2 Major Technical Challenges. The theoretical foundations of the space and upper atmosphere environment have steadily progressed since the mid 1970s due to the availability of scientific data from DoD, civil, and foreign sources. For example, we know that space disturbances that adversely affect military operations in and through space are caused by environmental effects such as ionospheric density fluctuations, atmospheric composition variations, and space charged-particle radiation. However, the availability of in-space monitors of the near-Earth space environment is limited, and we are required to use "space weather data" that happen to be available rather than measurements of the specific space effect that we know to be the causative force. As a result, realistic predictions of the space environment are essentially nonexistent, and warfighter support is limited to using predictions based on statistics or climatology.
Current efforts must be geared to obtaining the necessary space environmental measurements on a continuous and timely basis, improved forecast capability through the development of first-principle models of space and upper atmosphere environment, and better knowledge of spacecraft-environmental interactions. Specific technology development areas include advanced space environmental modeling and monitoring, atmospheric transmission and IR background phenomenology, and dynamic models of vehicle interactions with space plasmas.
3.14.2.3 Related Federal and Private Sector Efforts. NASA, NOAA, and NSF are involved with DoD in a strategy to achieve, within the next 10 years, a system to provide timely, accurate, and reliable space environment observations, specifications, and forecasts. Included in this strategy is support to the space/upper atmosphere environment for specifying, predicting, and mitigating the adverse space environmental effects on military space systems. The National Space Weather Program operates under the auspices of the Office of the Federal Coordinator for Meteorological Services and Supporting Research. Agency roles and missions specify that DoD is responsible for developing and transitioning first-principles models of the near-Earth space environment for operational utility.
3.14.3 S&T Investment Strategy
Three major thrusts are focused on assessing space environmental impacts on DoD operations: ionospheric effects, optical effects, and space effects. The first thrust has within it a technology demonstration having the near-term goal of validating the approach and providing a residual operational capability, as described in the JWSTP Information Superiority DTO A.13, Satellite C3I/Navigation Signals Propagation Technology.
The second and third thrusts are more appropriately considered as technology developments and have within them several near-term goals that are captured within Satellite IR Surveillance Systems Backgrounds (DTO SE.56.01) and Space Radiation Mitigation for Satellite Operations (DTO SE.55.01) technologies. Overall investment in these areas include demonstrations of space and atmospheric environmental models and of space environmental sensors. These investments will provide DoD with unparalleled capabilities to specify and predict space environmental impacts on warfighting systems. Specifically, DTO SE.56.01 is providing technology support (IR background characterization) to JWSTP Joint Theater Missile Defense DTO D.05, Advanced Space Surveillance; and DTO SE.55.01 provides identification and warning of natural space anomalies support to several JWSTP DTOs that rely upon an uninterupted flow of information from operational spacecraft, such as Information Superiority DTOs A.13 and A.16. Furthermore, these investments benefit DoD in areas such as improved radar target geolocation and target detection and tracking for Enhanced Moving Target Detection Development (SE.03.01), interpreting signals and images important to ATR for Reconnaissance and Surveillance (SE.20.01), and Multifunction EO Sensor Signal Processing (SE.06.01).
3.14.3.1 Technology Demonstrations.
None.
3.14.3.2 Technology Development. Technology advances in the following constituent areas are required to fully achieve the goals of the space/upper atmosphere environment program.
Satellite IR Surveillance Systems Backgrounds (DTO SE.56.01). Technology developments within this DTO are for developing scene-depiction modeling and simulation tools that correctly specify spatial structure in atmospheric, cloud, and terrain radiance backgrounds. Currently, these technology developments are focused to support space-based surveillance and threat warning systems such as SBIRS.
Space Radiation Mitigation for Satellite Operations (DTO SE.55.01). Technology developments under this DTO are to establish the causal relationship between the space radiation environment and (1) satellite anomalies, (2) space-systems degradation, and (3) systems failure; develop techniques and instrumentation that mitigate the adverse effects of space radiation; and enable warning capabilities for potentially deleterious satellite operations. Currently, these technologies are focused to support all space-based military systems.
3.14.3.3 Basic Research. As noted in Section 3.14.2.2, the major challenges for the space/upper atmosphere environment subarea are the lack of an adequate number of spaceborne instruments measuring and reporting in real time the various necessary space environmental effects that are known to cause problems to DoD operations and a unified theoretical foundation for developing predictive models of the near-Earth space environment. The fundamental knowledge for understanding how the energy flows from the Sun, through the magnetosphere, into the ionosphere and upper atmosphere is incomplete and must be obtained before truly accurate and timely predictions of the space effects on DoD assets can be possible. It is this energy flow within the space and upper atmosphere environment that manifests itself in increased ionospheric disturbances on military communications and navigation, large variations in atmospheric densities that affect IR optical transmissivity, and enhanced space-charged particle fluxes that affect satellite operations. The basic research programs must provide this fundamental understanding.
