Back to 2025 Home PageSpace has been called the final frontier, the ultimate high ground, and the wave of the future. Space systems have long been recognized for their contributions to the national security of the US and have proven themselves invaluable in the conduct of modern warfare. As we approach the battlefield of 2025, we must recognize that because space is so totally integrated into the fight, we have no choice but to protect friendly space assets through defensive and offensive counterspace operations as necessary to prevent an adversary from exploiting space systems against the US. Today, we stand on the threshold of an era which will see massive integration of space systems into the way of life of the nations of the world. Those that most effectively leverage space systems will be the political, economic, and military leaders of the world of 2025.
In order to make sure the US stays out in front in space power, we must begin planning now for the counterspace architecture of 2025. Key to this effort is to be proactive in developing the technologies, systems, and operational concepts for counterspace, rather than waiting until an adversary threatens, or worse, destroys one or more US space assets. This paper has discussed key technology areas required to implement certain promising concepts to achieve space superiority. These technologies are detection and targeting, miniaturization, stealth, kinetic energy weapons, and directed energy weapons.
Detection and targeting is a key technology area which is critical to the effective employment of counterspace weapons. Dominant battlespace awareness is critical in achieving space superiority. This area is especially challenging in the 2025 space environment where satellites are used by commercial and military users alike and we must have the capability to identify and target only the appropriate parts of a mission payload or its signal. Next, miniaturization must be pursued to reduce the critical aspects of size, weight, and cost when lifting large numbers of satellites into orbit. Work going on now in the areas of microelectromechanical systems, micro- and nanotechnology must continue and be tested in order to determine space applications. Given the likely threat capabilities of potential adversaries in 2025, the next technology, stealth, is especially critical to passively and inexpensively protecting US satellites from attack. This type of stealth is the application of nanotechnology and molecular manipulation to make satellites invisible to sensors. There is significant research, development, and testing going on in this area, and it must continue. A fourth area, kinetic energy weapons, will provide the needed capability to hold enemy satellites at risk of total destruction. This capability has already been proven from the air. Technology advances are needed to make this a capability from the ground in large numbers. Finally, the most promising means of force application lie in the area of directed energy weapons. Today the airborne laser is well on its way to operational status. This system must continue to be supported so that it can prove the feasibility of laser weapons. The follow-on efforts to airborne laser will need to prove directed energy weapons can be operated from air to space and within space. An analysis aimed at prioritizing these concepts with recommendations for future development follows.
Future Concepts-A System Analysis
In order to determine which of the counterspace concepts presented in this paper are most likely to yield the maximum return on investment, we have attempted to rank them using a subjective system analysis. Each system is scored in a number of categories which represent those characteristics most likely to contribute to air and space superiority in 2025. In addition, the systems have been scored in areas representing cost, schedule, and technical feasibility (table 3). The categories used to score the systems are:
Table 3 - System Analysis Score Sheet: Miniaturization, Stealth, and Detection/Targeting Concepts
| Satellite Bodyguards |
Robo-bugs | Satellite Cloaking | SMAKS |
Gravity |
Anti-ASAT | Space Interdiction Net | |
| Commercial Applicability | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| Availability | 4 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Payback | 4 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 5 |
| Contribution to Air/Space Superiority | 4 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| Cost | 3 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| Lethality | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 5 |
| Selectivity | 4 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 5 |
| Tech Challenge | 4 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 3 |
| Total | 30 | 32 | 23 | 25 | 21 | 22 | 32 |
Table 4 - System Analysis Score Sheet: Kinetic Energy and Directed Energy Concepts
| Alpha Strikestar TAV | High Energy Laser Attack Station | Solar Energy Optical Weapon | EMP/HPM Pills | Ground Based Laser | |
| Commercial Applicability | 4 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 2 |
| Availability | 4 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 4 |
| Payback | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
| Contribution to Air/Space Superiority | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Cost | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 3 |
| Lethality | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 |
| Selectivity | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 |
| Tech Challenge | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 5 |
| Total | 32 | 27 | 27 | 31 | 30 |
Based on this subjective analysis of the counterspace systems developed in this paper, a natural break in the scores appears. Those systems which fall "above the line (score of 30 or better), would seem to offer the greatest potential to contribute significantly to control of the air and space environment in 2025. Those systems (in priority order according to table 3 and table 4) are
In ranking the concepts at the top of the list, a number of factors were considered. Developing the Space Interdiction Net by 2025 pushes the technology development envelope to its maximum. However, the return is a silver bullet system which could significantly impact the way any future war in space is waged. On the other hand, the Alpha Strikestar TAV and robo-bugs offer exceptional capabilities but do not make the revolutionary impact on how war is waged that the Space Interdiction Net offers (table 4).
Each of the systems presented will rely heavily on breakthroughs in miniaturization and high-speed computing, both technologies which should see significant commercial development in the future. It is critical that the military capitalize on these advances in technology to develop systems that will offer uncontested access and control of space. Investment in systems such as those presented here will provide this capability in the future. The challenge is to move from the present to the future-where Star TEK is used to exploit the final frontier.