The Hill News

On February 4, the Obama administration released its National Security Space Strategy (NSSS), a document jointly produced by the Department of Defense and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. The NSSS lays out the space security strategy for the next decade. It is none too soon.

The United States has a vital interest in keeping the space environment usable into the future, keeping satellites safe and secure, and ensuring that insecurity in space does not create instability on the ground.  The nearly 1,000 active satellites now in orbit have assumed critical roles in civilian, scientific, and military activities.

The space above Earth has come to resemble the Wild West, with a growing population but few laws or rules on behavior or technology. Without such rules and coordination measures, the risk is growing of accidents and of misunderstandings, and of interference with satellites that might also lead to conflicts on the ground. !

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