AIA | Election 2008 Issues

Keeping America Strong: Advance U.S. Global Leadership in Aerospace and Defense

America's Future Depends on Maintaining Space Leadership

space buzz

Space technology enables OnStar emergency systems to work when motorists are stranded.

More than 80 percent of federal agencies rely on satellites for communications, including mobile "satellite on wheels" emergency vehicles, ship-to-ship and ship-to-shore communications, and border protection monitoring.

Protecting Our Nation and Our Citizens through Space Assets

Space assets represent a critical piece of the overall strategy to keep our citizens safe from harm. These assets are vulnerable — to unfriendly sabotage or to space weather — and we cannot afford to underinvest in this vital sector of our national security program.

It's hard to imagine a more dramatic wake-up call for U.S. space security efforts than China's stunning anti-satellite demonstration in January 2007. A ground-based ballistic missile scored a direct hit on a defunct Chinese weather satellite, proving China's capability of destroying space-based equipment. Their test underscores the importance of U.S. National Security Space efforts because of our reliance on advanced systems for military and intelligence missions and the ability of other nations to attack them.

The impact that space systems bring to the battlefield is immeasurable. Their effect on precision weaponry and communications has been visible for some time. Today, one airplane can accomplish the same mission that required hundreds in World War II and with far less damage to the surrounding area. Our nation's warfighters and intelligence personnel continue to rely on stateof- the-art communications, navigation, surveillance, weather, and missilewarning assets.

In addition, our emergency service providers depend on these advanced networks. Agencies such as the Coast Guard, Customs and Border Protection, and FEMA, as well as state and local organizations, also rely on satellite communications.

What America Needs:

Sustained and adequate investment in national security space programs that our nation's warfighters and intelligence personnel can continue to rely on.
Modernization of the nation's export control system to enable interoperability, capability, and defense cooperation with friends and allies.
Improvements in our ability to detect and classify all objects in Earth's orbit to ensure the survivability of our national security space systems and associated ground infrastructure.