"We're not going to space for the sake of space," Acting Air Force Secretary Whit Peters told senior leaders at an aerospace breakfast at the Pentagon recently. "We're going to space because it helps us do a mission we have to do."

Calling space important because it helps implement national policy, Peters explained that "space is not an independent operation. Individual programs mesh together to form a "system of systems, mixing space assets with aircraft operations."

For example, when a U-2 reconnaissance aircraft goes on a mission, the planes can send raw surveillance data via satellite to intelligence specialists in the United States, who can analyze it and send it to Operation Allied Force's Combined Air Operations Center at Vicenza, Italy.

The data can then be sent to a pilot flying a strike mission. All this can be done within minutes and reduces the number of airmen who have to deploy, said Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Michael E. Ryan.

"We couldn't do the operations we're doing without space," said Ryan.

In the case of Allied Force, a multitude of space assets are used to support NATO's goals, said Brig. Gen. Mike Drennan, commander of 21st Space Wing, Peterson Air Force Base, Colo. Navigation, strike indicators, search and rescue, space weather combat support and communications all benefit from space systems and products that meet the needs of theater commanders.

One of the more well-known programs, the Global Positioning System, guides precision weapons such as joint direct attack munitions, conventional air-launched cruise missiles and Tomahawk land-attack missiles launched from aircraft and ships.

The main control station at the 2nd Space Operations Squadron at Schriever AFB, Colo., operates the constellation of 27 rotating satellites, six ground monitor stations and four ground antennas around the world. Ground antennas send navigation information, as well as transmit commands to satellites.

GPS accuracy aids search and rescue, air refueling, mapping, geodetic surveys, ground troop movements and other missions.

However, as the Air Force evolves to a total aerospace force, it must face financial demands the space program presents.

To show its commitment, the Air Force is investing 30 percent of its science and technology budget -- more than double its current figure -- to accelerate development of space operations vehicles, space-based radar and laser, and adaptive optics.

One of the most significant space accomplishments is the contract with Lockheed-Martin and Boeing for building Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicles at one-third the original cost. The contract saves the Air Force $6 billion through the year 2020. EELV is the Air Force space lift modernization program that will replace launch vehicles currently being used, like Delta, Delta II, Titan II and Titan IV to carry GPS satellites and other assets into space.

Recent Milspace Headlines at SpaceDaily