Vanguard Magazine

space T he last decade has witnessed a steady and progressive real- ization that space is no longer a sanctuary, but it was during this time that space capabil- ity has become a foundation for our very way of life. In the past, governments had freedom of action in space, the safety and security challenges were relatively benign, and the number of actors limited. Today none of these assertions are true. Many analysts would suggest that space as a sanctuary has not been true for decades. The current evolution of military space programs around the world is a recogni- tion that space is a domain that requires protection and defence just like any other. Any discussion of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) military space program needs to be viewed through the lens of co- alition space operations. The CAF's efforts in space, from its earliest contributions in the 1960s, to space situational awareness with Baker-Nunn cameras, to its recent 12 DECEMBER 2020/JANUARY 2021 www.vanguardcanada.com By COL ANDRé DUPUIS (RET'D) reorganization within the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) as a fully developed op- erational domain, needs to be measured against the three enduring pillars of the Canadian defence policy: Defend Canada, Defend North America and Contribute to International Peace and Security. And giv- en that the United States is Canada's key military ally, Canada's military space rela- tionship with the United States is of para- mount importance. The CAF's relationship with US military space can trace its origins through NORAD and this, in many ways, is true today. However, the relationship now goes well beyond NORAD. To understand how the RCAF brings space power to support traditional military domains, one must understand the rela- tionships between the allied and partner military space forces. The growth in the CAF's ability to conduct space operations draws directly from the international agree- ments it has signed over the past several years, culminating in the Combined Space Operations Memorandum of Understand- ing (MOU). The effort to bring together initially four allies was officially announced on February 23, 2012, by Gen. Robert Kehler, then Commander of US Strategic Command. In a speech to the Air Force As- sociation, Kehler announced that US Stra- tegic Command had entered into a "Period of Discovery" to define concepts around a Combined (multinational) Space Opera- tions Center (CSpOC). The United States policy driver to bring together its closest allies in enhanced space operations was the release of the Department of Defence and Intelligence Community's National Security Space Strategy, which fundamentally changed the United States perspective on collabo- ration with allies — from heavy reliance on US capabilities to exploring "the de- velopment of combined space doctrine with principles, goals, and objectives that, in particular, endorse and enable the col- laborative sharing of space capabilities in is a team sport space

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