The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory has issued a 75-page report outlining its technical vision for advancing security in cislunar space, which comprises the region between the moon and the Earth’s geosynchronous orbit.
The report titled Cislunar Security National Technical Vision tackles national needs in cislunar policy and strategy and discusses technological capabilities needed to ensure stability, transparency and safety in the cislunar region, such as space situational awareness; communications; position, navigation and timing; and reconstitution of space-based capabilities, APL said Monday.
“Our goal is to make a critical contribution in pushing forward the national dialogue around the policy and technology development for cislunar security,” said Steve Parr, a program manager at APL’s space exploration sector and section author and co-editor of the technical vision.
The report offers recommendations for advancing technological developments. To make cislunar PNT service a reality, the document recommends that the Department of Defense should allocate funds to take part in trade studies with NASA to come up with an architecture that meets the needs of the two agencies, leverage the Space Development Agency to rapidly develop capabilities and innovate existing technologies.
Parr and his colleagues created the technical vision by analyzing findings from discussions during the first two Cislunar Security conferences held in 2020 and 2021 and identifying three comprehensive needs for cislunar security: the need for international norms of behavior in cislunar space and lunar surface; need for enhanced space situational awareness; and ability to address norm violations.
