The new "Department of Defense Space Policy" was signed by Secretary of Defense William Cohen July 9 following approval by President Bill Clinton and the National Security Council. The Central Intelligence Agency also approved the plan.
The policy document, called Department of Defense Directive No. 3100.10, sets forth the current U.S. policy on military and defense-related space policies. The directive replaces the last U.S. military space plan published by President Ronald Reagan on Feb. 4, 1987. The new policy sets the freedom of space as a vital area of the United States. Any attempt to hinder the ability of U.S. spacecraft to operate freely in space, whether they be government or private satellites, is now viewed as an attack on the U.S. itself.
"Purposeful interference with U.S. space systems will be viewed as an infringement on our sovereign rights. The U.S. may take all appropriate self-defense measures, including if directed by the National Command Authorities, the use of force to respond to such an infringement on U.S. rights," the directive says.
The Cohen document also calls for the development of "an operational U.S. space force" to protect U.S. space operations and patrol space to guard against hostile space activities. The type of space force was not specified and was left for development and definition to the U.S. Space Command to develop.
The plan for the first time makes it U.S. policy to use commercial space satellites and related spacecraft as the primary vehicles for U.S. military space operations whenever possible, increasing the Pentagons dependence upon private industry for military space operations in the future.
In a change from previous space plans, it calls for review of the prospects of sending military astronauts into orbit. "The unique capabilities that can be derived from the presence of humans in space may be utilized to the extent feasible and practical to perform in-space research, development, testing, and evaluation. ..this may include exploration of military roles for humans in space focusing on cost-effective operational missions," the plan states.
This reverses decisions made by the Pentagon in the late 1960s and 1970s to defer military manned spaceflights, choosing instead to use the NASA space shuttles to explore defense space missions. Pentagon use of the shuttles was phased out in 1992, with only one more military space shuttle flight scheduled in September.
The document also calls for expanded research in advanced technologies and test flights of new types of military spacecraft, launchers, and experimental craft to explore possible other uses of space for defense-related purposes.
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