be operated by the United States as an extension of the space tracking now performed by the Air Force's North American Air Defense Command (NORAD), or may be operated under international agreements* by an entirely new international entity. National Command Authorities (NCA). It is the policy of the United States today that, in time of national emergency, all space facilities belonging to U.S. government agencies or to corporations domiciled in the United States may be taken over by the NCA for its use in dealing with the emergency. We assume that this policy would also apply to SPS facilities, and that other countries will adopt similar policies. For simplicity in understanding the implications of Figure 2-1, assume at first that the entire SPS is owned and operated by the United States. In a national emergency, the NCA would communicate command and control directives for various SPS facilities, whether on Earth or in space, via SPS Program Headquarters. The NCA would also communicate directly with the space traffic control center, especially if it is operated by the United States, to obtain appropriate clearances for military launches or launches of civilian spacecraft supporting military activities in the emergency. The space traffic control center would then provide alternate communication paths between the NCA, SPS facilities in space, and the launch facilities on Earth. Assume now that the SPS is a cooperative undertaking involving several or many nations. If specific elements of the SPS are owned and operated by particular countries, and if each country has a policy with respect to space assets similar to that of the United States, the respective space facilities would come under the command and control of the respective National Command Authorities in emergencies. To avoid disruption of the entire system due to an emergency involving only one or a few of the SPS participants, however, it may be desirable for all participants (including the United States) to exempt SPS facilities from such a policy on space assets. *Air traffic in international airspace (over the oceans) is provided by the air traffic control systems of individual countries bordering the international air space under specific agreements with the International Civil Aeronautics Organization (ICAO).
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