As defense budgets shrink, drive for international space cooperation grows

Stars and Stripes

Published: May 22, 2014

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. Civilian space projects, including the International Space Station, have driven cooperation between the U.S. and its allies for more than 20 years.

With defense belt-tightening squeezing military space endeavors across Europe, North America and the Pacific, the people in uniform are hatching plans for similar cooperation in defense satellite work.

Some cooperative projects are already flying, including a military communications satellite used by American, Canadian and Australian forces. Air Force Lt. Gen. Ellen Pawlikowski told an audience at the Space Symposium in Colorado Springs on Wednesday that working with allies makes financial sense as the Pentagon plans to cuts billions from its space budget over the next decade.

"We needed to reach out and share the costs of access to space," said Pawlikowski who commands the Space and Missile Systems Center at Los Angeles Air Force Base, which develops the Air Force's new satellites and rockets.

Allies were reaching out to the U.S. at the Space Symposium, which drew a large international contingent among its 9,000 attendees.

"Let's be clear: It is very difficult for a single European nation to afford a full-spectrum capability," said Col. Dominique Arbiol, a French air force officer who oversees military space efforts there.

"My minister is very, very keen on international cooperation," said Cdmr. Volker Brasen, a German navy officer who serves as a top space officer in his country's defense ministry.

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As defense budgets shrink, drive for international space cooperation grows