space

Military plans to create Canadian Space Division

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“We are looking forward to this very important milestone in the further development of the RCAF’s capabilities and skills for space operations.”

From: Ottawa Citizen

The Canadian Forces will create a new group to focus on the growing importance of space to military operations and the country’s security.

The idea of establishing a Canadian Space Division has been circulating at National Defence headquarters in Ottawa since 2019, but it is now expected to be in place by September.

“3 Canadian Space Division is expected to be stood-up in the coming weeks,” Maj. Jill Lawrence, a public affairs officer with the Royal Canadian Air Force’s director general of space, confirmed Wednesday. “We are looking forward to this very important milestone in the further development of the RCAF’s capabilities and skills for space operations.”

Royal Canadian Air Force Brig. Gen. Michael Adamson, director general for space, said earlier this year that Canada was looking at following its allies who had created similar organizations.

Australia earlier this year announced it was creating a defence space command, but no details were available on the size of the organization. As U.S. president, Donald Trump ordered the creation of the United States Space Force in 2019 with more than 8,000 personnel. In April 2021, Britain stood up its Space Command to coordinate space operations and procurement of space systems. It has around 400 staff.

Canada’s division will be much smaller. Adamson told the U.S. publication, Space News, earlier this year there were around 180 personnel working on space-related defence issues. “We’re hoping to grow the enterprise across the entire Canadian Forces up to 270,” he said.

The overall figure will include Department of National Defence civilian personnel and military staff working on space-related tasks in operations centres. “It makes logical sense for us to look at standing up a Canadian Space Division that basically generates those forces that will then be able to be employed in operations for army, air force, navy and SOF (special operations forces),” Adamson said.

The division would be responsible to the Royal Canadian Air Force commander for the generation of space capabilities for various missions. The RCAF is responsible for defending and protecting military space capabilities and developing space-based capabilities for the Canadian Forces. Procurement of space systems will still be handled by various organizations in the RCAF, National Defence and Public Services and Procurement Canada.

Space-based systems have a significant place in the lives of the Canadian public, which relies on such equipment for everything from banking transactions to daily weather reports.

In the military realm, Canadian soldiers regularly use space-based assets to operate effectively on the battlefield. Such systems do everything from allowing long-range communications to guiding weapons to their targets. The Department of National Defence uses space systems to monitor the maritime approaches of the nation and conduct surveillance on locations around the world.

Adamson has pointed out that he has been educating senior Canadian military commanders not only about the importance of space, but also the potential threats to the space-based capabilities they need.

National Defence has plans to spend billions of dollars on space systems in the coming years. It is looking at a future replacement system for the RADARSAT Constellation Mission, a satellite system that provides surveillance information from around the globe.

In addition, the military wants to put in place a new satellite system allowing for communications in the Arctic. Initial operating capability for that was set for 2029, but that has since been moved to 2032. Other nations have also expressed interest in that polar communications project, which is expected to cost billions of dollars. Those countries include New Zealand, Denmark, Norway, France, the United Kingdom and the U.S.

Space-based systems are also expected to play a key role in the upcoming modernization of the joint Canada-U.S. North American Aerospace Defence Command.

Russia’s Destruction of an Orbiting Satellite Raises Space Debris Concerns

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Russia tested an anti-satellite weapon on November 15, destroying one of its own old and defunct satellites, Kosmos 1408. Launched in 1982, Kosmos 1408 was some 300 miles above Earth. Its destruction generated a debris field in Earth orbit that prompted the seven International Space Station crew members, including one Russian cosmonaut, to take cover in their crew capsules for several hours, in case they had to abandon the station. Occupants of the Chinese space station are reported to have taken similar action. The incident also has generated criticism from many corners and a grave discussion on the possible impact of any future such tests, by Russia or anyone else.

The danger of damage to the ISS or an orbiting satellite aside, tracking a debris field that could include thousands of pieces, in order to head off collisions, is a concern all its own. Very small debris in space is essentially impossible to track reliably, if at all. The incident also comes at a time when the number of spacecraft in Earth orbit continues to grow. AMSAT President Robert Bankston, KE4AL, said that Russia’s action will pose a threat to all activities in low Earth orbit for years to come, placing satellites and human spaceflight missions at risk.

“Space is already crowded, but now there are at least 1,500 trackable fragments and, possibly, hundreds of thousands of smaller yet still-threatening pieces of debris in low Earth orbit,” Bankston said. “While space stations have the capability to move out of the way, with sufficient notice, most satellites in low Earth orbit, including those designed, built, launched, and operated by AMSAT, do not. As such, they face greater risk of catastrophic destruction or degraded mission functionality, if struck by fragments from Russia’s destruction of Kosmos-1408.”

Bankston said AMSAT is closely monitoring the situation and hoping for the best.

NASA Chief Bill Nelson echoed Secretary of State Antony Blinken in expressing his own outrage at Russia’s action. “Their actions are reckless and dangerous threatening as well the Chinese space station at the taikonauts on board,” he said. “The [ISS] is passing through or near the cloud every 90 minutes, but the need to shelter for only the second and third passes of the event was based on a risk assessment made by the debris office and ballistics specialists at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston,” Nelson explained.

FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington condemned the incident as “irresponsible” and noting that orbital debris fields pose a threat to hopes for the peaceful use of space and “make the work of using space complicated and difficult,” he said in a statement. “For decades to come, they stifle scientific research, inhibit communications, and pose threats to the lives of explorers. And in the here and now, they pose a great threat to [existing] satellites of all nations” deployed for peaceful purposes.

“No one owns space,” Simington said. “And no one should intentionally make it more difficult to use.”

The FCC’s orbital debris rules date back to 2004, when the FCC adopted requirements affecting not only Part 97 Amateur Service rules but Parts 5 (experimental) and 25 (communications satellites) The FCC has made it clear that orbital debris rules apply to amateur satellites, in general requiring submission of an orbital debris mitigation plan with each license application.