Developmental Strategy for United States Space Power

The demise of the Soviet Union as the major adversary of the United States has created an unusual challenge for senior military leaders. The Soviet threat has been a major justification for the development of military space capabilities that represent a large share of defense spending. The Desert Storm experience was a watershed for space power as military leaders discovered how dependent combat forces had become on space support. With a pressing need for budget reductions because of the national deficit, the perceived decline of the Soviet threat, and the increased dependence on space power, U.S. leaders must convince taxpayers and Congress that developing space power is vital to U.S. national security interests. The Department of Defense must ensure that appropriate assets are available to fulfill essential national security military requirements without undue jeopardy to other nonmilitary national security interests. To ensure that no scarce resources are wasted, a careful space force development strategy must be built to support the nation's space force employment strategy. This essay examines a variety of factors that will influence the strategy for development of a viable space power capability.