Until very recently, US satellites have tended to be fairly large, very capable, and very expensive. These satellites pre - sent an opponent with lucrative targets, where the loss of even one would often constitute a dramatic loss in capability. This is particularly true for current generation reconnaissance sat - ellites since these are very capable, relatively few in number, and very vulnerable owing to their need to be in LEOs. Fortu - nately, deploying defensive space weapons is only one way to protect these assets. One option for mitigating this vulnerability is to deploy large numbers of less capable satellites. These satellites could pro - vide the same capability as a larger satellite by working in concert. For a satellite communication (SATCOM) system, each satellite would carry part of the load. If needed, the satellites could be placed fairly close together in orbit and their deployment geometry could be optimized to balance sur - vivability with the need to emulate a much more capable sat - ellite. Alternatively, the United States could move away from placing communication satellites in geosynchronous orbit and transition to a large constellation of satellites in lower orbits. The commercial sector is now using such an approach to provide global cellular telephone capability.

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Spacy, William L. Does the United States Need Space-Based Weapons?. Maxwell AFB, AL: USAF Air University, September 1999. [ 11 quotes ] [ page 52 ]