Overview

In the decades since the space program first began, the United States has become more and more dependent on space across a broad spectrum of military, commercial, and civil applications. That dependence brings with it an inherent vulnerability, and recent evidence of the growing threat, combined with acknowledged gaps that exist in our ability to rapidly characterize and attribute attacks on our satellites results in a compelling need for a robust space situational awareness (SSA) capability. The Distributed Real-time Awareness Global Network in Space (DRAGNETS) is one solution that leverages the trend toward distributed, networked military capabilities that nanotechnology will enable within the next 20 years. The DRAGNETS approach uses distributed constellations of thousands of very small sugar cube-sized femtosats to maintain continual cognizance of the space environment. Current and future advances in nanotechnology will lead to substantial miniaturization of satellite functions and allow the Air Force to field flexible, adaptive, and responsive systems as part of an overall SSA architecture. In order to realize the DRAGNETS vision, the Air Force should plan phased investments leading to an operational assessment of a prototype DRAGNETS constellation at a technology readiness level of 7 by 2025. The end result will be a capability that, when integrated with existing ground and space-based SSA assets, provides Combatant Commanders and senior decision makers with the necessary awareness to preserve maximum flexibility in the use of US space capabilities. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

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