Although the hardware in space, at ground stations and in the hands of warfighters driving planes, tanks and ships has improved; the most significant gains have been made in getting the right information to the right people at the right time.

"The key to winning a conflict now and in the future, is moving information to people who can do something with it," said Estes, also the commander of Air Force Space Command.

One area that has seen vast improvement is theater missile warning. During the Gulf War it took nearly five minutes to alert people on the ground of a Scud missile launch. Now, although the exact warning time is classified, it is "dramatically better," said Estes. This was done by creating a new way of processing data from Defense Support Program satellites. The ALERT (Attack and Launch Early Reporting to Theater) system went on-line in 1995 and continues to improve and refine the way information is processed from each $400 million DSP satellite. The improvements enhance the effectiveness of missile defense systems and allow more time for non-combatants to seek shelter.

The Global Positioning System also provides unique capabilities to the services not envisioned when the first GPS satellites were launched 20 years ago. GPS was originally designed to provide 24-hour navigation services, which it does well, but is now also used to deliver precision-guided munitions.

"This new generation of smart weapons will save lives," said Maj. Gen. Gerald F. Perryman, Jr. who commands AFSPC�s warfighting arm -- 14th Air Force. "Our pilots are no longer tied to their target ... they can �fire and forget� thanks to the accuracy provided by GPS targeting and guidance systems. New, precision-guided munitions allow one pilot on a single pass to take out several targets. This makes space technology a real force multiplier -- it allows us to send fewer people to do the same job."

Perryman pointed out the 24-satellite GPS constellation is also a neutralizer of traditionally bothersome environmental factors.

"The Navy�s Tomahawk cruise missile can fly day or night, in rain and fog, or through heavy battlefield smoke due in a large part to GPS," he said.

Communications and intelligence are other big winners in the continual improvement of space systems.

"Any field commander will tell you they don�t have enough comm(unications)," said Estes. "Today, however, we have a fully developed and very robust communications. We are in good shape here."

Intelligence has been harder to exploit and enhance because of the complex lines of command and control and the secret classification of some systems.

"Space Command and the NRO (National Reconnaissance Office) have made significant strides in blending the control of black (classified) and white (unclassified) systems; and more importantly splitting and routing the right information to the right users," Estes said.

Although space is critical to winning any battle today, many times that fact is forgotten, said Perryman.

"Space-based information has become like electricity or water -- nobody really appreciates it until they flip that switch or turn that faucet, and it�s not there. That information is important now, and will become even more critical to our future warfighting capability," said Perryman.

With all the enhanced capabilities space has provided over the last seven years it seems logical to believe the U.S. would easily win any conflict, but that unproven assumption concerns Estes.

"There�s no question we�ve made significant technological improvements," said Estes. "However, every service has seen a drastic reduction in manpower over the last seven years. So it remains to be seen if our smaller force can be as effective as the larger one we had in 1991."

Estes also sees a big change in the way wars will be fought in the future, especially when he looks at the explosion of capabilities the civilian space sector is developing.

"Today there are about 550 satellites orbiting the Earth. In the next 10 years it�s estimated there will be more than 1,500 commercial satellites launched. This is going to create a new way of doing business, especially in the areas of telecommunications and remote sensing," said Estes.

He predicts this will create new lines of commerce and a vast change in national and military priorities.

"Instead of running to exploit and defend oil fields like we�ve done in the industrial age, we will be running to space in this new information age."

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Satellite Launch To Boost DTH In India
Calcutta, India (SPX) Dec 28, 2005
The successful launch Thursday of India's heaviest satellite from spaceport of Kourou in French Guyana may have boosted the country's space research efforts to yet another level, but it has also lifted the spirits of at least three Direct-To-Home televisions broadcasters, one of which has been waiting for years to launch its services in India.