Space command ponders role in irregular warfare.

• Author: Magnuson, Stew
• Position: SPACE TECHNOLOGY

* Military communications, reconnaissance and Global Positioning System satellites provide services to deployed forces every day, said Gen. C. Robert Kehler, commander of Air Force Space Command.

But the organization wants to know what more it can do to participate in the irregular warfare that ground forces are currently engaged in.

"We're looking at making sure that at small units ... and even down to the individual level, that we are putting into their hands the space or space-related capabilities that they need," Kehler said at the Space Symposium in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Kehler ordered his staff last year to take a hard look at whether the multi-million space systems that fly thousands of miles above battlegrounds can do more to help troops battling insurgents on the tactical level.

"I specifically have asked our command ... to engage with our fellow services and others in a clear understanding of what we can be doing more of--or what we can be doing better--to make sure we are participating in irregular warfare," Kehler said.

"We need to adjust to the unique demands of the users," he added.

One of the first actions Space Command took was to change the orbital locations of GPS satellites to ensure that their signals can be received more effectively in Afghanistan's mountainous terrains. The command has been slowly repositioning some of the spacecraft this year to give war fighters stronger signals. That takes some time because it needs to conserve the limited amount of fuel carried onboard, but the process should be finished later this year, Kehler said.

As for communications, Space Command is looking at ways to increase bandwidth. If it can't find enough on its own satellites, it will go to commercial providers to purchase more, he said.

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