America's Air Force, The Future Calls: An Evidentiary and Theoretical Analysis Of The Roles And Missions Of A USAF Astronaut Corps

Abstract : The United States Air Force failed in its early attempts to put Airmen into space during the late 1950s and early 1960s. The reason was simple; the service lacked a clear mission requirement for emplacing its personnel on orbit. The exorbitant cost outweighed the possible benefits of a manned military space program. This study attempts to answer the question of whether the strategic environment (to include current space policy, space strategy, the United States space activities, other spacefaring actors activities, and the natural environment) has changed such that the Air Force can now justify establishing its astronaut corps. Since the last attempts at building an Air Force astronaut corps, developments in commercial, civil, and military space activity suggest that the time has again come to consider the need for Airmen astronauts. While the strategic environment could necessitate cultivating an astronaut corps, the international political consequences may negate any advantage of doing so. Thus, this work also investigates the theory-based implications of a USAF astronaut corps, specifically within the roles of using astronauts as part of a space weapon system and within the context of a space police, or guardian, force.