Sep 23 1985
From The Space Library
During a ceremony today at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, the Department of Defense (DOD) activated its first unified space command, SPACECOM, to oversee all military programs in space, the NY Times reported. SPACECOM would oversee and control all Air Force, Army, Navy, and Marine Corps defensive space activities, which consisted of systems devoted to intelligence-gathering, watching for an attack, and facilitating communications and navigation, and would operate separately from the civilian programs run by NASA. However, it was the potential role that the new command might play as headquarters for any space-based defense against enemy missiles that drew most attention, despite official assertions that any such assignment would lie far in the future.
Although the U.S. was committed to the early stage of research for a missile defense system known as the Strategic Defense Initiative, Gen. John Vessey Jr., chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said after the ceremony that the command's purpose was an extension of the armed services' current strategy of deterrence, and he sought to allay concern that it would be a first step toward war in space.
“There are several things the command will not become,” he said. “It is not a force built to escalate the arms race. It is not a force built to achieve dominance for the United States. The command will make its contribution to that fundamental element of United States strategy, the prevention of war.” Rep. Ken Kramer (R-Colo.), who strongly favored development of a missile defense system, said that the Space Command opened a new period in the lives of nations. Noting that he could “speak a little more freely” than the military officials, Kramer said, “I call it the post-nuclear era, in which the people of this nation and potentially all nations will no longer live in this shadow of potential nuclear destruction and nuclear holocaust.” Kramer had fought hard to have the military's space functions united and based in his district and said Colorado had become the “military space capital of the free world.” DOD named Gen. Robert Herres, who headed the North American Aerospace Defense Command and the Unit"ed States Air Force Space Command, to command the new"organization. Herres attempted to dampen speculation about SPACECOM's role in strategic defense development. “There is a lot of uncertainty about how that research is going to turn out. That's why we call it research,” he said. “I could speculate about what our role might be, but those decisions will depend on how the research turns out. (NYT, Sept 24/85, A28)
Hughes Communications faced the possibility of a $10,000 per day fine, up to a total of $5 million, if the Leasat communications system was not fully operational by November 30, Aviation Week reported. The potential of a fine resulted from the failure of its Leasat 4 satellite following deployment from the Space Shuttle Discovery during mission 51-1, reducing significantly the likelihood of three Leasat satellites being operational by the November 30 deadline.
Hughes could avoid the fee if the repaired Leasat 3 activated in late October; otherwise the firm had the option of launching a ground spare. Telemetry data from Leasat 3, repaired during the Space Shuttle 51-I mission, continued to confirm the satellite's functioning. The liquid propulsion system was intact, and the solid propellant perigee kick motor temperatures were rising toward acceptable levels. However, the satellite could explode when its main rocket fired late in September, and Hughes officials gave it no more than a 50-50 chance of reaching geosynchronous orbit.
Leasat 1 and 2, launched in August and November 1984, respectively, were operating according to specifications, and the Navy was leasing them.
Hughes had to provide the U.S. Navy with four operational satellites by March 31,1986, to meet the second contract deadline and could at that time again face fines for noncompliance. Company officials estimated December as the earliest date for a Leasat 5 launch.
Albert Wheelon, Hughes Aircraft Co. senior vice president and president of Hughes's space and communications group, said the Leasat 4 loss and other recent spacecraft losses were having an impact on the industry. “My reading is that generally the whole insurance market for satellites has just gone belly-up,” he commented. “I think it's going to have a major impact on startup companies. I think it's going to be a narrowing, both on the operator and the development side.” He added that the status of spacecraft underwriters would have less of an impact on companies like Hughes, because it could provide self-insurance. (Av Wk, Sept 23/85, 21)
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