CommunityThe American Enterprise Institute (AEI) issued a 36-page report called "Building an Enduring Advantage in the Third Space Age" on 8 May 24. Available at Building an Enduring Advantage in the Third Space Age | American Enterprise Institute - AEI
The report issued three sets of recommendations:
"To turn this temporary lead into an enduring advantage, the United States must build on sources of national power that run deeper than technology: the combination of free markets, an open society, and access to capital, which enable the engine of innovation behind this technology. For the US advantage in space to endure, the pace of innovation will need to continuously accelerate at a faster rate than competitors can copy or counter. This report provides three sets of recommendations to accelerate the engine of innovation in the US space sector:
- Reduce obstacles for new launch vehicles and companies.
- Expand the Federal Aviation Administration’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation.
- Increase Space Force funding for launch-range operations and infrastructure modernization.
- Revise the Space Force’s launch acquisition strategy to create more opportunities for new entrants.
- Press the advantage to accelerate US military and intelligence space missions. Develop much larger intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) satellites for the National Reconnaissance Office.
- Deploy a tactical ISR layer as part of the Space Force’s Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA).
- Accelerate the development and use of space logistics, in-space servicing, and spacelift.
- Begin using commercial ISR capabilities for immediate combatant command support and to better inform PWSA tactical ISR layer requirements.
- Enhance the lure of international partnerships with NASA to achieve broader space policy goals.
- Expand opportunities in the Artemis program.
- Develop novel deep-space missions that take advantage of new super-heavy launch vehicles.
- Negotiate a new multilateral agreement that builds on the Artemis Accords and includes more specific and binding requirements."
I am concerned about the recommendation to directly use commercial satellite ISR for direct combatant command support. To me, this crosses the line of the Laws of Armed Conflict. This is analogous to using a commercial airliner or merchant ship in combat operations. I know we have programs in place to lease commercial air and shipping assets in time of need, but this then makes them lawful targets for the enemy to attack. The same will be true for commercial satellites used in this manner. We already buy commercial imagery and communications from space companies so I guess you could say we already have crossed that line. But the statement in this report is worded in an explicit manner, in my opinion, that further blurs the lines between commercial and military space law.