Project Aura

5

“Eight thousand people are employed in the various phases of the MIL STAR program.”

General Eichen knew that last sentence was designed to impress politicians, the implication being that continued funding of MIL STAR meant eight thousand votes. The colonel giving him the briefing was obviously used to it and was just as obviously one of the MILSTAR employees who had absolutely nothing to do with the actual operation of the program itself, but was more involved with selling the program. Eichen knew this was typical of the entire defense establishment, from contractors to deployed units. The tooth-to-tail ratio of the Department of Defense was ten/ninety percent and shrinking every year.

Eichen was at the Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center in El Segundo, California, a stop he felt necessary to make before moving on to Alaska and checking on HAARP. He’d had his plane detour to California immediately upon receipt of Dalton ’s call.

“MILSTAR is the future of communications,” Colonel Braddock continued as he walked in front of a mock-up of one of the large satellites. “It is a joint service satellite communications system that provides secure, jam-resistant, worldwide communications to meet essential wartime requirements for high-priority military users. The multisatellite constellation will link command authorities with a wide variety of resources, including ships, submarines, aircraft, and ground stations.”

Eichen was seated in the front row of the otherwise empty conference room. His rank and his credentials from INSCOM had earned him this briefing, but he really wasn’t sure what he was looking for, so for the moment he kept quiet and listened to Braddock’s spiel.

“MILSTAR is the most advanced military communications satellite system in the world. Once completely operational, the constellation will consist of MILSTAR satellites One through Four in geosynchronous orbit giving global coverage and a fifth, the system coordinator known as SC-MILSTAR. Each midlatitude satellite weighs approximately ten thousand pounds and has a design life of ten years.

“Each MILSTAR serves as a smart switchboard in space by directing traffic from terminal to terminal anywhere on the Earth. Each satellite processes communications signals and through the SC-MILSTAR can link with the other three MILSTARs. The satellite establishes, maintains, reconfigures, and disassembles required communications transmissions as directed by users. MIL-STAR terminals on the surface can provide encrypted voice, data, telemetry, and facsimile transmissions.

“Geographically dispersed mobile and fixed control stations provide survivable and enduring operational command and control for the MILSTAR constellation. The AN-TRC-194 is the designation for the MILSTAR Ground Command Post, which can be at a fixed site or transported by aircraft, ship, or truck. These terminals use extreme-high-frequency, EHF, uplinks, and an SHF, super-high-frequency, downlink.”

The colonel was on a roll. Eichen had all this information in the top secret packet he’d been handed by the installation commander upon his arrival. He’d known basically what MIL STAR was before landing, but he listened to Braddock, keeping his mind open, because he had no idea what HAARP was yet, so he had no idea what part of what he was being told was important.

“Each MIL STAR can handle low-data-rate, LDR, and medium-data-rate, MDR, communications. Each transmission, LDR and MDR, is frequency-hopped over a two-gigahertz bandwidth to provide high resistance to jamming. MILSTAR covers a greater width of the electromagnetic band than any transmitter ever made. In addition, the MDR provides thirty-two channels that each operate at data rates up to one-point-five million bits per second. Because transmission security is not one hundred percent at that rate, the satellite has two specially designed nulling spot antennas that can identify and pinpoint the location of a jammer and electronically isolate its signal within a small region of the satellite’s two-gigahertz communications spectrum.”

“Which means?” Eichen asked.

“That MILSTAR cannot be jammed by any technology currently available,” Braddock said.

“These nulling spot antennas are basically counterjammers?”

“Yes, sir.”

“So MILSTAR can transmit on its own?”

Braddock frowned. “In response to an attempt from a hostile source trying to jam it, yes, sir.”

“How many ground stations can each satellite handle?”

“The MDR can handle at least two thousand, four hundred user terminals simultaneously.”

The colonel waited for another question; when none was forthcoming, he continued with his briefing. “We put the satellites together here, led by the MILSATCOM Joint Program Office, of which I am the executive officer.

Lockheed Missiles and Space Company is the primary contractor. TRW Space and Electronic Systems provides the low-data-rate payload, while Hughes Aircraft provides the medium-data-rate payload. The actual satellite”-Braddock turned to the mock-up-“is made up of components, which allows on-site upgrade.”

“What does that mean?”

“We can pull a piece, say the LDR main computer, and replace it when a better one is designed.”

“How do you do that when it’s in orbit?”

“A space shuttle mission. We’ve already upgraded the first two MILSTARs with the MDR, which they didn’t have in their original configuration. There have been six MILSTAR maintenance missions by the shuttle.”

“Six? You said only two needed the upgrade.”

For the first time Braddock seemed at a loss. “Well, sir, there have been other upgrades to the system.”

“Such as?”

“That’s classified.”

“I have the highest security clearance possible,” Eichen countered.

“Uh, yes, sir, I know you do. But, to be honest, I don’t know what the other four missions were. They were compartmentalized.”

“Then how do you know about them at all?”

“We have to provide access to a full-scale mock-up for EVA training any time a mission is planned. We’ve done that six times. Thus I assume there were six missions.”

Eichen leaned back in the chair and considered that. “So someone is modifying the MILSTARs and you don’t know who it is?”

“No, sir. I mean, yes, sir. That’s true. Of course, whatever agency it is, it has the proper clearances and authorizations.”

“How do you know that?” Eichen had run into this more times than he cared to remember.

“We wouldn’t have given access to the mock-up without proper clearance and authorization.”

The stock answer. Eichen was tempted to ask the colonel to reverse that logic, but he held back as he knew it would do no good. “How is the satellite launched?”

“Two methods. So far all have been via Titan IV with a wide-body Centaur upper stage. For the SC-MILSTAR, it will be via space shuttle release.”

“Why the difference?”

“SC-MILSTAR is going in a geosynchronous orbit over the north pole, while the others are basically above the equator. The next shuttle launch, Columbia , is going up from Vandenburg and is set for a polar orbit. It just makes sense to use the available platform rather than having a Titan moved from the Cape to Vandenburg.

“Once the system is fully operational, command and control of it will be given over to the U.S. Space Command at Falcon Air Force Base outside of Colorado Springs.”

“ Cheyenne Mountain,” Eichen said. He didn’t like the new name given to the massive underground complex. He remembered when it had simply been called NORAD, before that agency was a victim of the end of the Cold War.

“Yes, sir.”

Eichen stood. “Thank you very much, Colonel.” He headed for the door, then paused. “One last question.”

“Yes, sir?”

“When does the SC-MILSTAR go up?”

“In three days. MILSTAR will be operational worldwide in seventy-two hours.”