StratCom aims to curb space race

The leader of the U.S. Strategic Command hopes a recent tour he gave of Bellevue’s Offutt Air Force Base will lead to decreased American-Chinese competition in space.

Gen. Kevin Chilton gave that tour last week to Gen. Xu Caihou, China’s second-highest ranking uniformed officer, explaining StratCom’s role and showing his guest around the base near Bellevue.

Chilton, speaking at Tuesday’s space conference held at the Qwest Center Omaha, said he hopes the visit proves to be the beginning of friendly talks between the United States and China — talks that could shed light on Chinese intentions as they beef up their space-based satellite and weaponry programs.

“We’re looking for opportunities to begin follow-up dialogue,” Chilton said. “I don’t think either country ... is interested in a future arms race.”

Recent hints from China suggest the Chinese might be interested in challenging American superiority in space.

Earlier this week, the leader of China’s air force called a military competition in space “inevitable” during an interview that some experts viewed as a potentially aggressive shift in Chinese policy.

Those comments to an official Chinese government newspaper follow the opening this year of a fourth Chinese space center.

Chinese leaders have publicly stated their intent to build an orbiting station and go to the moon. More bothersome to American military officials, China demonstrated its ability to fire weapons deep into space in 2007 when it shot down one of its own weather satellites.

“I think anyone who is familiar with this business ... would be absolutely amazed at the advancement that China has made in such a short period of time,” Chilton said Tuesday. “They have rapidly advanced over the last 10 years.”

StratCom leaders are attempting to understand Chinese ambitions as they advocate for more funding for America’s military space program.

During his speech Tuesday, Chilton unveiled a “Christmas wish list” that included ending American reliance on satellites and other equipment beyond its intended life span. Any satellite stockpiles have long disappeared, he said. New technology is often delayed for years, he said, in part because of funding constraints.

Chilton said that in 2009 the U.S. military has no margin for error when it launches a satellite into space.

“We’re really good at launching satellites,” he said, “but we’ve learned time and time again that we’re human beings and not perfect at this.”

During a panel discussion at the space symposium, military leaders detailed the different ways they use — and sometimes overuse — StratCom’s satellites.

Satellites track drug traffickers moving their product, by boat or truck, from South and Central America toward the United States. They pinpoint terrorist leaders in the Middle East and Central Asia and watch the shrinking polar ice caps in the Arctic Circle.

The United States has held a sizable advantage in space since the Cold War ended. That lead now appears to be shrinking as China pours billions into its space program.

“Where they’re heading is one of the things a lot of people would like to understand better,” Chilton said.

Contact the writer:

444-1064, matthew.hansen@owh.com