Commercial Space Innovation Essential To Government Effort To Stay Ahead In Space, Lawmakers Say
The commercial space industry must be allowed to thrive as the nation works to remain out front in space and as government continues to rely heavily on commercial partners, said lawmakers and government officials Wednesday on Capitol Hill at a Future Space Leaders event. “Space has become intertwined with everything we do,” said Douglas Loverro, deputy assistant secretary of defense for space policy. The nation’s “commercial infrastructure is empowered by satellite communications at large,” he said. “GPS isn’t the only thing that touches you every day.” Cars have satellite radio and people subscribe to satellite TV, he said.
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The investment in space is coming more from the commercial entrepreneurship in space, Loverro said. Years ago, “every penny for space was coming from the government,” he said. Now, the investment in space is coming more from the commercial side, he said: “It’s a second renaissance for space.” In years to come it will be risky “for a company to rely heavily on government investment to stay in the business,” Loverro said. About 80 percent of DOD’s satellite mission is conducted over commercial satcom, he said. But “we're still a very small percentage of the overall commercial market,” he said.
The U.S. also is continuing to form partnerships with other nations to help maintain its strength in space, Loverro said. It’s not a U.S.-only show, he said. “We are unmatched in our ability to form alliances with other nations because people want to be our friends.” More than 50 nations fly satellites around the globe, he said. Ten years from now, nations that don’t fly satellites will likely be in the minority, he said. DOD worked with Australia to relocate a C-band radar to Australia, he said. The two nations also have an agreement to create a shared situational awareness program, he added.
Loverro urged the government to find a balance between national security and commercial growth as the Department of Commerce moves toward removing satellites that aren’t critical to national security from the U.S. munitions list. Comments in the proceeding were due this month (CD July 12 p6). “You can’t free commercial entrepreneurship if you have regulations that get in the way.” It’s critical to get the balance right, he said.
Colorado has the second largest aerospace economy in the country, said Sen. Mark Udall, D-Colo., chairman of the Strategic Forces Subcommittee in the Armed Services Committee. Its aerospace industry brings about $8.7 billion into the state, he said. Udall urged more investment in science, technology, engineering, mathematics programs and in communications infrastructure. “Space is the ultimate high ground.” Every military operation “is dependent now on timely and widely based, space-based capabilities,” he said. He also urged more deep space exploration and next-generation weather satellites. To foster these missions, the nation will have to decrease its federal spending, he added.
The U.S. must maintain dominance and capability in space, said Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz., member of the House Armed Services Committee. Nations like China “are doing some things that, I think, give us some cause for concern,” he said. Some nations have already weaponized space, he said. The committee understands that “if we don’t do well in space … we'll ultimately find ourselves at a great disadvantage,” he said.