Star Wars or Star Peace?

35 years after George Lucas’s Star Wars was released, there is a greater possibility of a space battle outside the realm of Hollywood.

Two new military satellites, one American, the other Russian, were recently launched into orbit. There is nothing particularly newsworthy about this since different satellites are constantly being sent up into space, but still, the event is yet another indication that space is becoming more militarised. If we are to prevent space from turning into a new kind of warzone, it is essential that international agreements to ban space armaments are developed and signed as a matter of urgency. 

Back in 1977, no one would ever have believed George Lucas’s Star Wars Trilogy could become a reality. But today, 35 years after the film was first released, there is apparently a greater possibility of a space battle happening outside the realm of Hollywood fantasy. Space has become a central part of the military and defence policies in many of the world’s biggest states. 

In the future a country at war will not try to occupy enemy territory directly. Instead it will concentrate on finding a country’s weak spots before issuing calculated blows. Ground troops and armoured vehicles will soon become a thing of the past, and strategic aviation is also set to take a back seat in the military campaigns of the future. Our understanding of ‘strategic armament’ has shifted from classic ‘nuclear defence triads’ towards non-nuclear armaments which rely on high-precision weapons systems and various means of deployment.    

Wars of the future are expected to involve a lot of orbiters to ensure a country’s security: satellite reconnaissance, warning, forecasting and targeting systems – objects which themselves will need to be defended and armed.

The US is making huge investments into satellite technology. Back in 2009 US Defence Minister Robert Gates convinced Congress to designate a sum of $10.7 billion to developing this field. His successor in Barack Obama’s administration, Leon Panetta, clearly has no intention of lowering this sum.  

Authoritative military analysts like for example, General Vladimir Slipchenko (who recently passed away), predict that by 2020 the world’s leading countries will have between 70,000-90,000 precision weapons. We can only imagine the number of satellite systems these will require. And without satellites, the cruise missiles and smart bombs that can be programmed to wipe out something as small as a mosquito are no more than useless lumps of metal. 

And so it is only a matter of time before orbital systems are developed that will be able to independently hit targets in space, in the atmosphere or on the Earth itself. But just because the technology exists (or soon will do) it does not make it necessary to send military space stations into orbit, and this certainly should not mean that reconnaissance or meteorological satellites should have to be armed. In reality, the problems of satellite defence could be effectively dealt with from Earth. 

“Whoever owns space also owns the world,” says the former Chief of Arms of the Russian Armed Forces, Colonel-General Anatoly Sitnov. But people in the military are the first to admit that Russia is lagging far behind the USA when it comes to space systems…

At the moment the sky is home to around 500 American orbiters, and just 100 Russian ones. According to Russian experts the American satellite fleet is more than four times the size of the Russia’s. Plus which, not all of Russia’s orbiters are in good working condition.  In the middle of June the experimental space-craft X-37B completed a successful autonomous landing after more than 15 months orbiting the Earth. X-37B’s Programme Manager Lt Col Tom McIntyre noted that following the retirement of the space shuttle fleet, the X-37B OTV programme would bring “a singular capability to space technology development.”  The Americans do not hide the fact that this sort of technology could first and foremost be applied to create new armament opportunities. 

In this respect Russia’s position is very different from that of the Americans. In May 2008 Commander of the Space Forces General Vladimir Popovkin (who is now in charge of Roscosmos) said: “We are categorically against placing or launching any sort of armaments into space, because space is one of the few areas where there are no borders. Introducing arms to space will upset the balance in the world.”

According to Popovkin space systems and complexes are technically very difficult and could easily fail. “As the Commander of Space Forces (in this case) I cannot guarantee that the object’s failure was not caused by the actions of a potential enemy”. 

According to military experts, strategic nuclear stability, i.e. guarantees against a sudden nuclear missile strike, rely heavily on the efficacy of early warning satellites that detect missile launches, and also on the constant work of reconnaissance satellites. If one of these orbiters ceases to function, the security of the state that launched it may end up in jeopardy. This could in turn create an atmosphere of distrust and uncertainty, which could ultimately lead to a military catastrophe.

It would seem that Harrison Ford, who played Han Solo, one of the most important characters in the Star Wars films, was right when he said that the main secret of the film’s success was that it was “not about space, but about people; this is primarily a film about human relationships.” It is up to us humans to decide whether space shall remain as a peaceful realm or whether it will become another arena for military conflict.

Space Pacts to put Indo-Russian ties in still higher orbit

India and Russia are expected to take their cooperation in the field of space to a new high later this month and a couple of key new agreements are likely to be signed between the two sides when Vladimir Putin visits India.

A major area of opportunity for the two sides to take their cooperation in the fields of space and science and technology further would be GLONASS. The Russians have recently opened a huge door for India when Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin announced his country’s willingness to offer India joint participation in development of its GLONASS satellite navigation system on an equal basis. This was the first time when Russia made such an offer to India. “We have offered our Indian counterparts not only use of the GLONASS system but also participation in upgrading it. We practically see it as a joint effort. I think our Indian counterparts will be interested in it,” Rogozin, who has been given special responsibility for Russia's military-industrial complex, went on record as saying.

The Indians are understandably enthused by the Russian large-heartedness. Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai alluded to this in his major speech in New Delhi on November 22, 2012 when he said: “Access to the whole spectrum of GLONASS signals by Indian agencies is a major component of the Indo-Russian space cooperation. This is matched by robust cooperation on important projects like Chandrayan 2, the Human Space Flight and YOUTHSAT.”

Importance of GLONASS for India

GLONASS, an acronym for Globalnaya Navigatsionnaya Sputnikovaya Sistema or Global Navigation Satellite System, offers India a very important strategic leverage with a vast array of applications in civilian and military spheres. GLONASS, a radio-based satellite navigation system operated for the Russian government by the Russian Aerospace Defence Forces, is a valuable alternative to the US-controlled Global Positioning System (GPS).

In December 2011, India and Russia had signed an agreement for receiving precision signals from GLONASS, which will allow missiles, including those fired from nuclear submarine Chakra, to strike within half a meter of distant targets. GLONASS is the only alternative navigational system in operation with global coverage and of comparable precision.

Space is one important sector of Indo-Russian bilateral cooperation where the Indians would be looking forward to working closely with Russia to push some major investment projects during Putin’s upcoming India visit. India is well aware that some Indo-Russian investment episodes in other fields have been mired in controversies and been log-jammed, but the space-related agreements in the pipeline would compensate for glitches in the past.

Russia’s Most Expensive Space Programme

GLONASS is not just a project but also a powerful statement of Indo-Russian synergies. It is the most expensive program of the Russian Federal Space Agency, consuming a third of its budget in 2010. The Russian gesture of inviting India with open arms for this project points to the high orbit the Russians have placed India in.

GLONASS is a Soviet era project that began in 1976. From October 1982 onwards numerous rocket launches added satellites to the system until the ‘constellation’ was completed in 1995. GLONASS achieved 100 percent coverage of Russian territory by 2010. The GLONASS project achieved a major milestone in October 2011 when the full orbital constellation of 24 satellites was restored, enabling full global coverage.

India to Invest Close to $3 Billion in Space by 2017

The expanding Indo-Russian cooperation in space would not have come at a more opportune time as India has a busy calendar for the next five years which would require an investment of almost three billion dollars.

India’s flagship space agency Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has plans to launch its first manned space flight in 2017. The Indians are also eyeing deep space missions to be topped by lunar human landing, possibly by 2020. India’s space budget would be enormous by 2020. The maiden manned space flight of India would ensure that India arrives on the global stage in a big way, having a significant edge over several developed countries.

ISRO’s ambitious programmes include the setting up of several ground facilities like launch pads, the mission control centre, astronaut training centre, all permanent assets on the ground including what goes into the orbit. India and Russia have collaborated on technologies in the space sector which can integrate into platforms that India is developing.

India could not have made such deep forays into space without the Russian cooperation. It was the erstwhile Soviet Union that had launched first Indian satellites - Aryabhatta and Bhaskara from its Baikonur cosmodrome – in the seventies and eighties. Rakesh Sharma, the first Indian astronaut, travelled to the Soviet Salyut-7 space station in 1984.

The half a century old Indian space programme is now poised for a major leap as it has seamlessly moved beyond practical applications-based thrust to deeper and technologically far more difficult newer areas like India’s first lunar mission (Chandrayaan-1), navigation and joint ventures in space science. Space and Technology is one of the major arenas where India and Russia share a long standing and successful cooperation. Both the countries actively participate together in many fields of exploration and peaceful uses of outer space. Currently it has many operational agreements in the fields of moon exploration, global navigation system, human space flight and spacecraft building for atmospheric studies.

The Indian sense is that while the Indo-Russian collaborating is on the right trajectory there is scope for further improvement. India needs to play catch up with other countries who are investing heavily in research and development. A major challenge is also how to apply these from the laboratory to the assembly line and use them for the greater public good. In this context, Mathai has paid rich compliments to the Russian scientists by remarking thus: “The great record of Russian science (just recall the extraordinary achievements of the Academicians) makes this a partnership of great value.”

Year on ISS planned ahead of manned Mars mission

NASA and the Russian space agency plan to send an international crew to the ISS for a year. The extended mission, if it succeeds, may bring scientists a step closer to manned flights to Mars and beyond.

­The plan envisages an international crew, made up of an American astronaut and Russian cosmonaut, blasting off on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft in March 2015.

"A one-year increment on the ISS would be a natural progression as part of preparations for missions beyond low-Earth orbit," NASA spokesman Rob Navias said on Friday.

The extended expedition aims to gather the scientific data needed to send humans to destinations much farther away from Earth. The mission hopes to prove whether or not missions lasting longer than six months are possible.

NASA says the results will add more understanding to existing assumptions about crew performance and health and will be will helpful in reducing the risks associated with future exploration.  Manned missions to an asteroid or Mars are already in the pipeline, being penned for 2025 and 2035 respectively.

Medical and biological studies provide the basis of research aboard the station, which also serves as a $100 billion “laboratory” for technological demonstartions and scientific examinations.

The mission may improve the understanding of how human beings can tolerate the weightless environment of space for that long.

Doctors are particularly concerned about the affect it will have on bone density, muscle mass, strength, vision and other aspects of human physiology.

The yearlong stay will span the space station's 43rd through to 46th expeditions and will become the first time the ISS will host a mission of that duration.

However, the two will not be the only ones to have left Earth for so long.

So far, only four people have spent a year or longer in orbit during a single mission. All four are Russian cosmonauts who served aboard the Mir space station that operated in low Earth orbit for 15 years, before it was scrapped in 2001.

Back then, in 1988, Soviet cosmonauts Vladimir Titov and Musa Manarov spent 365 days in space.

The record set in 1988 was then broken between 1994 and 1995, when Russian, Valery Polyakov stayed on board for 438 days.

It is still to be announced who will take part in the record-breaking 365 day mission on the ISS. There's speculation that Peggy Whitson, NASA's former chief astronaut, might be a potential candidate.

It is expected as many as two additional seats to fly to ISS may be available. Rumors suggest Russia may them to  so-called 'space tourists.'

India steps up space program with big budget, bigger satellites and a leap to Mars

An Indian Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle carrying the communication satellite GSAT- 5P

India is stepping up its space program with a higher budget, the launch of a new satellite and a proposed mission to Mars. The country's space agency will attempt ten space missions by November 2013, bringing its total budget to $1.3 billion.

The 3,400-kilogram GSAT-10 communication satellite – the heaviest ever built by India – launched early Saturday aboard an Ariane-5 rocket, the Alaska Dispatch reported. The satellite aims to be fully operational by November, and has a 15 year lifespan.

The GSAT-10 will boost telecommunications, direct-to-home and radio navigation services by adding 30 much-needed transponders to the country's current capacity. India is currently leasing foreign transponders to meet domestic demand.

The satellite launch was delayed by a week after scientists from Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) detected a small malfunction, discovering one gram of dust in the upper part of the rocket.

Future plans: Ten missions in one year

With the first launch a success, the ISRO faces a hectic schedule for the next year, with 9 more missions on the agenda. The most high-profile event is the launch of an orbiter to Mars, slated for November 2013, which aims to collect data on Martian methane sources. The ISRO timed the mission to coincide with a window where the planet's orbit brings it closest to Earth.

India intends to complete the mission with no international assistance, as a means to demonstrate the growth of the ISRO. “At the moment, we plan to do it on our own,” ISRO chief K. Radhakrishnan said.

Some experts believe that even though India has the capacity to complete the mission without outside help, there is one potential stumbling block.

“How will the Mars orbiter be controlled, being 100-200 million kilometers away from the Earth? India might not have the right technology and the needed resources for this,” Novosti Kosmonavtiki ('Space News') columnist Igor Lisov told SW.

India also has the ambitious goal of sending a manned mission to space by 2016, which will be a huge step for the country, but may also prove difficult to implement in the limited timeframe.

“India has 4 years left, which is not a long time. However, the country has the chance to adapt what has already been developed by Russia, China and US,” Lisov told SW.

Mixed response

The ISRO has grown into one of the world's top six space programs since its inauguration: “The first 50 missions took 27 years, the next 50 took place in the last 10 years and the next 58 missions will happen in the next five years,” Radhakrishnan said.

Though its budget is less than one-tenth that of NASA's, it has increased every year since the early 2000s, jumping from $591 million in 2004 to 2005, to $1.3 billion in 2012 to 2013.

However, India’s space ambitions have been met with a mixed response among the domestic population. The mission to Mars drew widespread criticism for its high costs in the midst of an economic downturn – the venture is estimated to cost the country nearly $90 million.

Nevertheless, India's science community embraced the gains made by their country's space program. “India is a country which works on different levels,” Krishan Lal, President of the Indian National Science Academy told the Alaska Dispatch.

“On the one hand, we have a space mission, on the other hand a large number of bullock carts,” he said. “You can’t, say, remove all the bullock carts, then move into space. You have to move forward in all directions.”

Air Force prepares third mission for mysterious X-37B spacecraft

X-37B spy plane

 The US Air Force confirms that they will once again launch its mysterious X-37B spy plane back into the sky, but what it will do there remains a mystery. For the third time ever, the Boeing-made unmanned aircraft will be put into orbit.

Details on the operation, as usual, remain scarce, as the Air Force remains insistent on keeping information about the aircraft under wraps. On the record, however, the agency has confirmed that the X-37B will be blasted into space next month from Cape Canaveral, Florida with the assistance of an Atlas 5 rocket.

The mission this October will mark the third instance the Air Force has tested its space-age aircraft, with its second endeavor wrapping up only earlier this year in June. The Air Force has not confirmed how long the X-37B will be in orbit during its next mission, but its last voyage lasted 469 days, more than twice the length of its first test.

For next month’s mission, the Air Force will once more use the plane that was launched into the sky during their first test run of the craft. A second craft was used for the mission that ended earlier this year.

The Air Force launched the initial X-37B under the mission name OTV-1 in April 2010 but has refrained from disclosing almost any information at all from the general public. The secrecy has in turn created concern from citizens of the United States and abroad who fear it might be engaging in surveillance missions.

Some write-ups detailing the craft’s alleged ability to collect data and transmit information through heavy clouds has led some to say that it could be involved in weather research. A report carried by NBC quotes an intelligence analyst, however, who say the X-37B could very well be a harnessing that highly developed technology to spy on civilians around the world.

“The satellite can see through night and through bad weather, which means that it can also zoom in to 'countries of interest' with great detail, like a Google Earth on serious Cold War steroids,” NBC’s report from earlier this year alleges.

According to an Air Force press release, the rocket has been repeatedly put into orbit to “assure access to space for Department of Defense and other government payloads.” The craft itself consists of a plane nearly 29 feet long and 15 feet wide that also has a payload bay “about the size of a pickup truck bed,” Space.com reports.

“One of the most promising aspects of the X-37B is it enables us to examine a payload system or technology in the environment in which it will perform its mission and inspect them when we bring them back to Earth,” Major Tracy Bunko at the Pentagon’s Air Force press desk tells Space.com. “Returning an experiment via the X-37B OTV enables detailed inspection and significantly better learning than can be achieved by remote telemetry alone.”

Bunko says that the Air Force has not decided on an official launch date, or at least one that is publically known.

Two satellites lost: Proton rocket launch fails to deliver

The launch of a Proton rocket booster from has ended with the failure of the upper stage to deliver two communication satellites into the intended orbits. All Proton launches have been suspended until an investigation into the incident is completed.

­The Proton-M rocket with Express MD2 and Telcom-3 communication satellites was launched at 20:31 GMT from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. All stages of the booster worked correctly and satellites with Briz-M uppers stage were delivered into an interim orbit.

The final stage started with two successful engine firings, but the last third failed to eventuate.

Russia’s space corporation Roscosmos has confirmed that satellites were not delivered into their orbits and are considered lost. An emergency commission is investigating the contingency event.

The Express MD2 satellite was designed at the Khrunichev Space Center in alliance with Italy’s Thales Alenia Space to retransmit various communications flows to broadcast on the territory of Russia.

The Telcom-3 satellite was made by Russia’s Reshetnev Information Satellite Systems for Indonesia’s РТ Telekomunikasi Indonesia Tbk. It was supposed to provide TV broadcasts in Indonesia and the Indochina region.

The Russian space industry has suffered a number of considerable satellite losses over the last two years.

On December 5, 2010, another Proton-M rocket deviated from the course by eight degrees. As a result, three GLONASS navigation satellites fell into the Pacific. That loss was particularly painful since these three were the last to complete the 24 satellite group to make GLONASS fully operable around the globe.

In 2011, Russia made four failed launches. In February a military satellite Geo-IK-2 was lost, in August a Progress M-12M cargo ship failed to make it to the ISS and crashed in Siberia, in November Roscosmos lost the Phobos-Grunt automatic space station and, in December, a Meridian-5 communication satellite.

The latest emergency could result in a major system shake-up and even dismissals at the Khrunichev Space Center, which designed and manufactured the Briz-M upper stage. The series of emergencies last year forced Roscosmos to introduce additional acceptance measures to ensure maximum quality of the equipment. However this latest failure puts the effectiveness of that step under question.

Progress cargo ship fails to dock to ISS

Russian cargo ship Progress M-15M has failed to dock to the ISS on Tuesday night as a precaution due to a system warning on approach. The docking has been postponed indefinitely.

The launch control center reports that as the ship was approaching the ISS its automatic systems indicated an emergency situation and the space docking system automatically decided to abort docking. The distance between the ISS and Progress ship at that moment was 161 kilometers.

Russia’s Roscosmos space agency has announced that another attempt to dock Progress cargo ship to the ISS will be made after another cargo ship – from Japan – is docked to the station.

Japan’s robotic spacecraft called H-2 Transfer Vehicle-3 (HTV-3) was launched to the ISS on July 20. It is expected to dock the ISS on July 27.

Specialists of the Russian space agency are now considering docking performance recommendations and controlling the flight of the spacecraft.

At this stage the unmanned cargo spacecraft is orbiting Earth at 408.1 kilometers. The distance between the station and the spaceship is 484 kilometers.

The next attempt to dock Progress could be made on July 28, given that the spaceship still has enough fuel to perform rendezvous maneuvers.

The Progress M-15M cargo ship undocked from the ISS on July 23 to perform tests of the “Kurs” rendezvous and docking system.

It was expected to be finally undocked from the ISS on July 30 to make a series of scientific experiments in orbit that would last three weeks before the ship was supposed to be de-orbited and sunk in the “spaceship cemetery” of the Pacific Ocean.