Space Panel Report Criticized for Lack of Detail.

• Author: Book, Elizabeth G.
• Position: Commission to Assess United States Security Space Management and Organization

Even though the congressionally chartered Space Commission did not specifically recommend the creation of a separate "space corps," one panel member did not discount the possibility that such an organization may be established in the future.

The "Commission to Assess United States National Security Space Management and Organization was charged by Congress to study and make recommendations on the organization and management of space activities in the United States. This is the second defense commission chaired by Donald H. Rumsfeld. Rumsfeld, currently the defense secretary, was also chair of the 1998 commission charged to assess the missile defense threat to the United States.

Doug Necessary, a longtime staff member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and a member of the commission, said that the panel was charged to determine whether a separate service was required for space activities. He said that the current space program currently does not have the ingredients needed to create a space corps. "Even if we did," Necessary said, "the cost might not be justifiable."

But Necessary said that, despite the recommendations of this panel, the way might be paved for a space corps in the future. "Probably an external event, like someone shooting things in space, would be a stimulus for creating a separate corps. As more and more countries have the opportunity to reach space, our security problem increases directly."

The panel was established as part of the fiscal year 2000 National Defense Authorization Act. Retired Navy Adm. David E. Jeremiah, former vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, replaced Rumsfeld as chair. Rumsfeld was chairman of the panel from its inception until December 2000, when he accepted the nomination to become secretary of defense.

At a meeting with defense reporters, Jeremiah stated that the commission's main conclusion is that space policy must be debated at the national level. "We think the president should consider establishing space as a national security priority," he said.

The panel found that U.S. space systems are vulnerable to a range of attacks. Asked if the country had already been attacked from space, Jeremiah explained that the causes of space satellite damage are difficult, if not impossible, to determine. However, he referred to the satellite interruption that occurred on May 19, 1998, as an indication that those systems are vulnerable. The incident occurred when the Galaxy IV satellite failed and...