Space: Emerging Options for National Power
by Dana J. Johnson
Category: Astronautics, Military

This report presents the results of a study that examined the extent to which both military and economic spacepower will influence national security strategy and the conduct of future military operations. It attempts to articulate the key military space policy issues facing the United States and place them in the larger context of a changing strategic environment to define new options for the exercise of spacepower in the pursuit of national interests. The proliferation of military space forces from the Cold War to the present can be seen in the increasing capabilities of these forces and the expanding roles they are expected to play in future missions. Space forces will be expected to perform an array of space-related functions, including early warning and integrated tactical warning and attack assessment, weather/environmental monitoring, satellite communications, surveillance and reconnaissance, navigation and positioning, space control, and, possibly, ballistic missile defense and force application.