The US is entering an era where cannot use space as a “US sanctuary,” stated the US Strategic Command deputy commander, Air Force Lt. Gen. Robert Kehler, at a House Armed Services subcommittee hearing Wednesday. (see above) “We know we are going to be challenged, and we are taking measured steps to meet those challenges,” said Kehler. He explained that STRATCOM has done a complete review of the space vulnerabilities and is working to fill gaps. Part of this effort includes improving space situational awareness, such that the US military knows what’s where, when, and for what reason—a comprehensive picture of operational space. Kehler said STRATCOM would like to “take that information and process it in a different way.”
The White House announced its United States Space Priorities Framework in a document released concurrently with Vice President Kamala Harris' first National Space Council meeting. Listed among five U.S. priorities is to “defend its national security interests from the growing scope and scale of space and counterspace threats.”