Operationally Responsive Space
This transcript is made possible through the sponsorship of Schneider Electric
Col. Scott Klempner:
Okay, good morning, everybody. My name is Colonel Scott Klempner. I am the Deputy Program
Executive Officer for Space Domain Awareness and Combat Power Systems out at Space Systems
Command. You have shown up for the responsive space panel. This is the second time we have treated
this subject here at the AFA Convention. The first time was on Monday in the classified session, and we
can go into a little bit more detail behind the motivating threat, but all the basic concepts about
responsive space are unclassified. I'm going to set the stage a little bit, and then we're going to dive into
our industry panel here to talk more about some of the details.
So the other panelists this morning... Sorry, the other moderators this morning, I noticed have all
marked that today is Valentine's Day, but it's actually there are two holidays being celebrated today. The
other one, of course, is a 40-day period of fasting, prayer, and charity. It is a period of self-imposed
deprivation. I am, of course, referring to the next round of continuing resolution. And it could be prayer
is the only thing we haven't tried to get a budget. With that in mind, industry asked me several times
this week, "What can we do to help?" And I always say, "Call your congressman." But I don't know if
we're past that or not. Okay, back to the state setting.
In September of last year, the Space Safari team running VICTUS NOX program, it was a combined
government and industry team, took delivery of a space vehicle and launch vehicle in under 12 months.
That's nearly unheard of. They then called that space vehicle and launch vehicle up from storage into a
ready phase that lasted for 60 hours. During that phase, the industry and government team had to
generate a mission to get it ready for launch. They then had 24 hours to launch that space vehicle into
an orbit that was adjacent to a simulated threat, which was actually a retired NASA satellite.
In that 24 hour period, they had to do things that normally took weeks or months to do, including things
like flight safety, collision avoidance, range safety, FAA approvals. They were able to get all those things
done because they had spent time preparing for how do we inject speed into this process. A launch
processing campaign for reference can take anywhere from 45 to 90 days. They did it in three. The
normal satellite acquisition time is between five and 10 years. They did it in one. Actually, less than one.
Tactically Responsive Space is an operational concept that enables the space force to respond to
adversary aggression at the speed of conflict. It is not about launch. It is not about the spacecraft. It's
about acquisition, operations and mindset and culture.
We always say the adversary gets a vote. So when the adversary exercises that vote to control the time
and place and nature of his action, the combatant commander wants a response option. When red
moves his chess pieces on the board, he takes his turn then it becomes our turn. If we wait 24 to 36
months to respond, we are giving up our turn. We're skipping our turn and letting red have the run of
the board. In contrast with the combatant commander has the ability to respond when those variables
are known after the adversary acts, that gives the combatant commander the ability to counter
operational surprise to blunt the first mover advantage.
Both of those contribute to the space force's theory of success. More importantly, the combatant
commander can restore deterrence, disrupt an attack in progress, or even counter an attack after one
has occurred. So above all, TacRS is a demand signal for speed. It's a demand signal to industry, but I
think, more interestingly, it's a reflection that signal reflects back on the government. That's acquisition,
workforce, operations crews, and even the federal civil bureaucracy that is involved in space... the
putting things in space.
