In a one-day conference at the famous Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs, a city fast becoming the epicenter of American military and commercial space, leaders of the aerospace industry mingled with the military men and women who make sure the United States maintains its superiority in space.

The conference began with a panel of 12 stars: three major command commanders, all with different perspectives of space. Gen. Ed Eberhart, commander of Air Force Space Command and commander in chief of U.S. Space Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command; Gen. John Jumper, commander of Air Combat Command; and Gen. Lester Lyles, commander of Air Force Materiel Command, each spoke of a renewed focus on the use of space capabilities in the military.

Eberhart likened that renewed interest to the race to the moon in the '60s. However, he urged a new direction.

"We must think beyond force enhancement," Eberhart stated. "We must think now of space control."

Space control is considered by military strategists to be the ability to protect and defend space assets and deny the use of space to an enemy.

"We must use space to attack the center of gravity of our adversaries," he said. "We must control space as we would attempt to control land, sea and air. The first ships that set sail were not navies. The first ships set sail for exploration and trade.

"Why did the navies go to sea? To protect them. And I would offer to you that's exactly going to happen when it comes to space. I'm sure one day that we'll have satellites up there that will protect other satellites."

Jumper, as one of the prime customers of Space Command's products, reminded the audience that we will need to create a "warrior class" to operate military space systems in future conflicts. He said the military must create a new environment by tearing down the inter- and intraservice boundaries so that the warrior can get timely information for his mission.

Lyles, whose command handles the acquisition processes and product development for the rest of the Air Force, handled questions about the upcoming merger of Space and Missile Systems Center and AFSPC Oct. 1.

"I'm telling our people not to look at it as a developmental organization turning into an operational command," he said. "We're creating a new culture here, not wholly ops or developmental. Space and air integration is absolutely critical."

Eberhart also answered questions from the audience concerning the future of the ICBM force.

"I think we will always have ICBMs with us. I wish there were no nuclear weapons on the face of the earth, but if there are, I know who I'd rather have them," he said. "I think about 500 ICBMs is the right number to maintain a stable nuclear deterrent."

Lt. Gen. Roger DeKok, the vice commander of AFSPC, spoke to a lunchtime crowd about the need for increased "space situational awareness -- the real-time characterization of orbital space objects and objects transiting through space" in the future.

"Improved surveillance capabilities through ground and space-based sensors lead to more effective intelligence that will allow us to know what space systems adversaries can access and rely on; understand threats to our systems; and have the capability to provide near real-time warning of attack preparations � capabilities that will provide intel prep of the battlefield," DeKok said.

He said that the key to improving our surveillance of space and knowledge of the spacecraft operating there is uniting the different elements and getting it to the decision-maker.

"Surveillance systems track objects in space � or dots in space. Intelligence sources help us define the threat from those dots. Connecting these dots is what fusion and integration are all about � bringing all the pieces of information together," he said.

Brig. Gen. Douglas Richardson, commander of the Space Warfare Center at Schriever AFB, Colo., emphasized that the American people are unaware of how much there is to lose if commercial and space assets are damaged in war.

"When you hold up your arms and say there's a threat, the U.S. people don't understand you," he said. "It would take a catastrophic event to get America to its feet. Our real audience is those graduating from high school now, because the more aware they are of space capabilities and vulnerabilities, the more of a difference it will make."

The general is considering a second space aggressor squadron at the SWC to improve space situation awareness for military units who depend on it.

"We're asking them: 'Are you protecting space assets on the ground?' and 'Are you doing enough for defensive counterspace?' Because an attack could hit our economy -- our banking, broadcasting and communications," the general said. "We're very far away from the capability to protect our assets."

The audience of military and commercial professionals was generally enthusiastic about the straight talk from the military leaders.

"This conference started out 10 years ago as an acquisition update and also as a way to bring people to our annual awards banquet for the outstanding squadron at the Air Force Academy," said Steve Boone, a local AFA board member and the chairman of this year's event. "But the number of attendees was dwindling off. We decided to change the topic to space operations and this year more than 200 people signed up. Next year, we can exceed that easily."

The real benefit of such a conference is the interchange of ideas, he continued.

"Any time the people attending the conference have an interchange outside the formal channels of discussion, that's fantastic. These industry guys are interested in the latest events on the minds of senior leadership and they have a lot of knowledge. They have the same shared experience. It just helps the entire space community," he said.

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