DoD Fact Sheet: Resilience of Space Capabilities (2011)
This fact sheet provides foundational definitions of resilience, and evaluation methods and criteria. Four key resilience attributes are also presented. A good place to start when considering a methodology. This white paper was “replaced” by the 2015 SMDA Resilience Taxonomy (see below) per a memo from the Assistant Secretary of Defense (5 Oct 2015), however while the subsequent document echoes some of the content of the white paper, it does not completely replace, but rather augments topics contained within. This document is still a good, concise summary.
U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Directive 3100.10 “Space Policy” (2016 Revision)
This Directive codifies the 2011 Fact Sheet definition of resilience into policy and represents the Department’s most authoritative definition at present. This version was superseded by a new update on Aug 30, 2022, which removes the resilience definition but remains a good reference.
OSD Space Domain Mission Assurance: Resilience Taxonomy (2015)
In September of 2015 the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense published this document in an effort to formalize the taxonomy of resilience for space. This white paper introduces some of the common mitigation approaches and provides additional context. While not entirely consistent with the 2011 fact sheet, the two are somewhat complementary. A memo from the Assistant Secretary of Defense (5 Oct 2015) states an “intent to incorporate this taxonomy into this office’s official update of DoDD 3100.10,” this has not occurred to date (2022).
AFSPC Resilience and Disaggregated Space Architectures (2013)
Air Force Space Command authored a white paper in 2013 discussing the use of disaggregated system architectures to increase system level resilience.
Resilience of Space Systems White Paper (Aerospace Corp., 2017)
The Aerospace Corporation published a white paper in 2017 discussing the “models for resilience of space systems developed by the Aerospace Corporation.” The paper ably walks through the key process steps required to assess resilience and develop mitigations.
Take the Red Pill: The New Digital Acquisition Reality (2020)
This document, authored in 2020 by Air Force executive Dr. Will Roper, is not specifically about resilience. However, its focus upon use of digital engineering to accelerate acquisition of programs and key technologies is definitely related to resilience. The need to constantly stay ahead of the threat requires a more accelerated acquisition model by the government and this paper describes ways to accomplish that goal. In a way, this describes a prerequisite for achieving resilience in practice.
Space Threat Assessment 2023 (CSIS, 2023)
The Center for Strategic & International Studies publishes an annual unclassified threat assessment report and posts it to their website. This report is a good summary of the state of the contested environment for space and draws on a wide range of available information to form conclusions and identify trends.
Defense Against the Dark Arts in Space (CSIS, 2021)
The Center for Strategic & International Studies published this report on their website in February 2021. It describes the challenge of protecting space systems, primarily the space layer, from so-called “counter space weapons.” This unclassified report broadly discusses the classes of threats that pose danger to today’s satellite constellations as well as some techniques and technologies that could be employed to protect them.
Challenges to Security in Space (2022)
The U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) has released this update to a report first published in 2019. The report discusses the challenges to security in space, with some focus on the capabilities of near peers. The report also presents “Key space issues through 2030 and beyond.”