GEOFF@SRI-CSL@sri-unix (06/02/82)
From: the tty of Geoffrey S. Goodfellow
PM-Military and Space, Adv 01, 2 Takes,880-1550
U.S. Air Force Moves into Manned Space Program
For Release Tues PMs June 1
By HOWARD BENEDICT
AP Aerospace Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - In the 25th year of the space age, man and his
military machines are moving to control the ultimate high ground far
above the Earth.
The Soviet Union already has a toehold. The United States makes its
opening bid this month, when, for the first time, American astronauts
will conduct military assignments in space.
The space shuttle Columbia will carry a Defense Department payload
to test sensors for future spy satellites - a modest beginning to a
multibillion-dollar project that could develop by the end of the
decade into a formidable space force of military pilots, ships,
satellites and exotic weapons.
Not exactly ''Star Wars'' - but heading in that direction.
The force is needed, defense officials claim, to counter a strong
Soviet manned military space effort aimed, they say, at dominating
that new arena. For their part, the Soviets blame the United States
for establishing the shuttle's military capabilities.
The first defense-related shuttle flight is scheduled to lift off
from Cape Canaveral on June 27, with touchdown on Independence Day,
July 4, at Edwards Air Force Base in California.
President Reagan is expected to greet the returning astronauts with
a speech outlining America's future in space. Reagan is said to be
considering establishment of a large permanent space station to be
used later in this decade for military, scientific and commercial
projects.
The June flight, Columbia's fourth and final test mission, will see
fundamental changes in NASA's hitherto open information policy.
The Air Force, which manages the Pentagon's space effort, has
declared the payload secret and won't disclose details to reporters.
It is listed simply as DOD 82-1.
The astronauts, Navy Capt. Thomas Mattingly and Henry Hartsfield,
won't discuss the payload on open air-to-ground conversations, nor
will they transmit television pictures of it for fear the Soviets
might learn something.
Nevertheless, many details about the package are known, from Air
Force congressional testimony and articles published in technical
papers.
Robert Hermann, an assistant secretary of the Air Force, spilled the
beans on DOD 82-1 in testimony last year before the House
subcommittee on science and technology.
''We are planning to place a critical space test program called
CIRRIS on the fourth orbital flight test mission,'' Hermann said.
''This will provide critical information applicable to future defense
missions and will give both the Air Force and NASA an early
opportunity to evaluate the procedures and interfaces for operations
with the shuttle.''
CIRRIS stands for Cryogenic Infra-Red Radiation Instrumentation for
Shuttle. It is to scan Earth's horizon with a super-cooled infrared
telescope to gather background and basic target data for future
spacecraft designed to detect and possibly destroy enemy missiles and
satellites.
The payload will not be released into its own orbit, but will remain
in the shuttle cargo bay.
From reliable sources it was learned other Pentagon instruments
aboard the flight include a Space Sextant, being developed to give
defense satellites an independent navigation capability, and a device
called HUP (horizon ultraviolet program), smaller than CIRRIS but
intended to do similar studies in the ultraviolet spectrum.
NASA always has prided itself on the openness of its program, and
some officials are not happy with the security demands. But, Brian
Duff, the agency's chief of public affairs, said: ''We have no choice.
The decision has been made by the president that we are to share the
shuttle with the Air Force.''
Brig. Gen. Richard Abel, Air Force director of public affairs, said:
''It is imperative, as we move DOD space systems to the shuttle from
expendable launch vehicles, that we protect information about those
systems which would be useful to a potential adversary.''
Some observers believe CIRRIS is not all that secret and that the
Air Force's real goal is to test its own and NASA's security systems
to find where they might leak during truly top secret missions.
The first all-up military ''blue shuttle'' flight is scheduled for
the 10th launching, in November 1983, carrying a satellite to detect
aircraft from orbit.
After that, the pace accelerates, with 24 of the next 60 flights,
extending into 1987, classified as national defense missions - to haul
up satellites and as testbeds for lasers and other weapons. The
General Accounting Office estimated recently that the Defense
Department will require 114 of the 234 shuttle flights expected to
take place through 1994.
''The Defense Department and the Air Force have solid plans for the
continued expansion of space capabilities and the exploitation of
space for military purposes,'' said Air Force Undersecretary Edward C.
Aldridge Jr. in recent congressional testimony.
''This is inevitable, due to the military and economic advantages of
space surveillance, communications and navigation,'' he said. ''We
need to pursue a vigorous research and development program to give us
future military options in space, such as an anti-satellite system to
deny access to those considered harmful to our interests and,
potentially, weapons in space for protection of satellites or defense
of our forces.''
Officials of both NASA and the Air Force foresee the day, not too
many years away, when each agency will operate its own shuttle fleet.
Four shuttles are currently planned, with money in this year's budget
to maintain an option for a fifth vehicle.
The trend toward space militarization is indicated by the number of
Air Force uniforms at NASA centers. Eight officers are assigned to
NASA headquarters in Washington; 60 to the Kennedy Space Center at
Cape Canaveral, Fla., and 66 plus 22 Air Force civilian employees at
the Johnson Space Center in Houston.
Early military shuttle flights will be piloted by military officers
in NASA's astronaut corps, but the Air Force is training specialists
at its space division in Los Angeles to handle sensitive payloads.
Adding impetus to the militarization effort is the continuing Soviet
activity and a recent GAO recommendation that the U.S. accelerate an
early feasibility demonstration in orbit of a space-based laser
weapon.
The Soviets possess the only operational space weapons system - a
killer satellite capable of flying alongside another satellite and
blowing it up. The Air Force early next year is expected to test-fire
for the first time its own anti-satellite weapon - a device that
seeks out an orbiting target and smashes into it after being launched
from an F-15 jet fighter aircraft.
The Soviet manned space program, very active in recent years, is
believed by American experts to be mostly military-oriented. The
Soviets have indicated they will have a 12-to-14-man permanent space
station in orbit by 1985, and the recently-launched Salyut 7 craft may
be the core of that outpost.
''The Soviets recognize the historical value of dominating the space
environment,'' said Sen. Harrison H. Schmitt, R-N.M., a former
astronaut who is chairman of the Senate space subcommittee. ''It's the
first ocean they really have a chance to dominate. They have the
right perspective - that the civilization that dominates the military
and non-military aspects of space is going to dominate the military
and non-military aspects of the Earth.''
Schmitt said the United States ''has not fully realized the unique
aspects of space for keeping the peace. We have a superior base of
technology but an inferior base of will by which to use that
technology.''
He urged formation of a space command within the Pentagon or Air
Force to set and implement space policy. Defense officials have said
they are working toward such a command and may have it in place by the
end of this year.
Among other things, that command would direct development of a
space-based laser system for destroying hostile missiles and
spacecraft.
The GAO, the investigative arm of Congress, says that
directed-energy weapons may revolutionize military strategy, tactics
and doctrine. Its recent report centers on the concept of a
constellation of laser battle stations in space with the potential for
credible air and ballistic missile defense for the United States
''where no defense currently exists.''
These unmanned laser stations would be carried aloft by the shuttle
fleet.
Lt. Gen. Kelly Burke, the Air Force deputy chief of staff for
research, development and acquisition, said earlier this month that
the Soviet Union could have an operational space-based, high-energy
laser in orbit within five years for anti-satellite applications.
Burke said it will be the end of the century before an effective
space-based laser weapon system could be deployed to destroy ballistic
missiles in flight.
There has been some congessional criticism, led by Schmitt and Sen.
William Proxmire, D-Wis., that the Defense Department is not paying
its fair share for shuttle development.
''Clearly, the space shuttle has been developed largely at NASA
expense,'' Schmitt said. ''Yet, DOD will be a major user.''
Of the $15 billion it will cost to build four flight shuttles and
their facilities, the Pentagon's share is $3.4 billion. That includes
constructing a second launching base at Vandenberg Air Force Base,
Calif., building secure facilities at Cape Canaveral and at Mission
Control Center in Houston and developing a rocket stage capable of
boosting all shuttle payloads - military, scientific, commercial - to
high orbits.
ap-ny-05-27 0945EDT
***************pcmcgeer (06/03/82)
A very interesting article. But it must come as a small reminder of life's ironies to see that Sen. Harrison Schmitt(R-N.M.) agrees with Sen. William Proxmire(D.-Wis, and hasn't he been defeated *yet*?) on this aspect of space policy.