Field Command of a Tactical Satellite System

One way to ensure tactical satellite systems remain fully responsive to a field commander's needs would be to place all command and control aspects of the system under direct field control. This paper presents the results of a study to evaluate the feasibility of field command of a notional tactical imaging satellite system. The study indicates that such a system is feasible. A satellite constellation can be designed to provide the field commander with significant, timely, tactical data. The hardware is available, or will be within the near term, that enables field command and control facilities manned by a team fully integrated into the existing force structure. Use of GPS receivers on the spacecraft, greater satellite autonomy, and a higher tolerance for individual spacecraft failures can reduce the work load on ground-based controllers to manageable levels. However, field command will place constraints on the amount of imagery that can be obtained due to limited data transmission times and field commands with overlapping areas of interest competing for system access.