Space Vehicles Commons^™

Arms Control In The Third Space Age: Assessing International Efforts To Regulate Military Operations In Outer Space In The “3 C’S” Era, Walt Conrad, Justin Anderson, Sarah Jacobs Gamberini

Space and Defense

Preserving1and protecting the free and open use of outer space benefits all space-faring nations and is vital to U.S. national interests. U.S. military and civil space operations, however, face a number of growing challenges. Several countries possess or are developing means to disrupt or destroy space systems; space debris threatens the safe passage of spacecraft; and outer space is an environment where the United States now competes with a rapidly growing number of other space-faring nations. To remain the world’s preeminent military space power, the United States must consider a variety of means and strategies to address these challenges.

Editor's Note Volume 6 No. 1, Space And Defense

Space and Defense

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents Volume 6 No. 1, Space And Defense

Space and Defense

No abstract provided.

Front Matter Volume 6 No. 1, Space And Defense

Space and Defense

No abstract provided.

Notes For Contributors, Space And Defense

Space and Defense

No abstract provided.

Publisher’S Corner: Don’T Call It Cyberspace, Roger G. Harrison

Space and Defense

It is said of human beings that we are a pattern discerning species. We tend to search for or invent patterns even where none exist—hence the popularity of power point.1 When we deal with something truly unprecedented, our tendency is nonetheless to find some precedent for it, or, failing that, to fall back on analogy, metaphor or simile, all tools the mind uses to confront the unknown future with the familiar—which is one reason that large organizations faced with unique challenges almost invariably get it wrong.

Space Verification, Eisenhower Center For Space And Defense Studies

Space and Defense

The purpose of this study is twofold: first, to determine to what extent multilateral agreements to limit disruptive actions in space and/or establish norms of behavior are verifiable; second, to consider under what circumstances space verification serves U.S. interests.

Identifying America’S Vital Interests, Adam Lowther, Casey Lucius

Space and Defense

As the Department of Defense (DoD) continues to shift its focus from Europe to the Asia-Pacific while also attempting to meet budgetary challenges, academics and analysts are examining the nation’s difficult financial outlook and contemplating not only the kind of military the United States needs, but the kind it can afford. Such considerations are, however, putting the cart before the horse. A much more basic challenge faces the country. Simply stated, the United States has no clearly defined and broadly accepted set of national interests. Instead, as one report noted, “Many find it difficult to distinguish between America’s national interests …

International Commercial Avenues To Complement Deterrence Actions, Jonty Kasku-Jackson

Space and Defense

The world relies heavily on services provided by satellite assets, but ensuring the safety and security of those assets is extremely difficult. Classic deterrence approaches rely almost exclusively on the threat of force to dissuade one state from acting against the interests of another. Although classic deterrence was arguably successful against a single adversary during the Cold War, it seems insufficient in the current multipolar strategic environment. In addition to state actors, the strategic environment is complicated by a number of non-state players in space. Some scholars present a theory in which a state could dominate earth if it could …

International Space Negotiations, Emerging Space Powers, And U.S. Efforts To Protect The Military Use Of Space, Justin Anderson, Walt Conrad, Sarah Jacobs Gamberini

Space and Defense

In recent years strategists and diplomats from space faring nations have engaged in debates with their foreign counterparts (and in some cases, with each other) on a range of issues related to norms and laws – or the relative lack thereof – applicable to the military use of space. Questions have run the gamut from the very broad (should the slim volume of outer space law relevant to military platforms and operations be expanded?) to the very specific (what new technical tools are available for the verification regime of a notional future space arms control agreement?).

Editor's Note Volume 7 No. 1, Space And Defense

Space and Defense

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents Volume 7 No. 1, Space And Defense

Space and Defense

No abstract provided.

Front Matter Volume 7 No. 1, Space And Defense

Space and Defense

No abstract provided.

Notes For Contributors, Space And Defense

Space and Defense

No abstract provided.

Publishers Corner Manned Space Exploration: America’S Folly, Roger G. Harrison

Space and Defense

Publishers Corner: Essays

If we want to assess the benefits of human space exploration, particularly to Mars, who better to consult than the good folks at MIT, a place presumably bristling with engineering knowledge and human genius. Fortuitously enough, the “Space, Policy and Society Research Group” at MIT has produced a study on “The Future of Human Space Flight” for our edification and enjoyment. It is six years old at this writing, but the facts have not altered appreciably: the humans who would have to be transported to, sustained on, and returned from the red planet are the same frail …

Book Review The Strategist: Brent Scowcroft And The Call Of National Security By Bartholomew Sparrow (Public Affairs, 2015), Schuyler Foerster

Space and Defense

A popular new biography pays overdue tribute to a living legend. Bartholomew Sparrow’s rich and detailed biography of Brent Scowcroft—a still very active and now nonagenarian—has been on bookshelves since early this year. Many, including those who have an intimate familiarity with some of the events and personalities in this book, have already offered thorough reviews of the work.

Terror On High: Deterring Asat, Stephen Shea, Mathew Johnson, Alfredo Zurita

Space and Defense

Student Contribution:

As technology becomes even more pervasive in daily life, valuable and relatively vulnerable space assets will inspire greater desire to attack U.S. power through space.1 As a result, Anti-Satellite (ASAT) deterrence, a fledgling area of study, will need to be developed and addressed in detail. The proceeding essay will attempt to answer the following questions. What motivates space attacks? How will the enemy try to attack our space assets? What can be done to deter future ASAT attacks?

Cyber Deterrence: Is A Deterrence Model Practical In Cyberspace?, Nathaniel Youd

Space and Defense

Student Contribution:

After reconsidering massive retaliation versus escalation dominance concepts from nuclear deterrence, escalation dominance, investing in capability to respond proportionally at each level of cyber attack, may be the most practical and effective military strategy for strengthening cyber deterrence.

Argentina Space: Ready For Launch, Daniel Blinder

Space and Defense

Desire for a comprehensive space program, one that includes an indigenous satellite launch capability, motivated Argentina to strengthen relevant policy institutions and carefully reconsider its approach in foreign affairs. In the process, this space power on the semi-periphery bridged bitter domestic partisan differences on the federal budget and allayed security fears of the international community, fulfilling at least some important national objectives regarding economic development as well as Argentinean access to space.

Cyberwar: Clausewitzian Encounters, Marco Cepik, Diego Rafael Canabarro, Thiago Borne Ferreira

Space and Defense

As Clausewitz’s masterpiece suggests, language matters for how states conceptualize and plan for war. ‘Cyberwar’, now on the lips of nearly every national security policymaker, may turn out to be a misnomer.

Strategic Nuclear Weapons For Planetary Defense, James Howe

Space and Defense

The planet Earth is continually under bombardment. Each day, roughly 100 tons of small meteoroids and space debris – some as large as a meter in diameter, but most smaller than a grain of sand – strike the atmosphere. Moving at speeds in excess of 40,000 kilometers per hour, these meteoroids are often seen as bright streaks in the sky as they burn up from atmospheric friction. Fortunately, because they are consumed high in the atmosphere, meteoroids and space dust pose no threat to humans or other life on Earth.

Editor's Note, Damon Coletta

Space and Defense

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents, Space And Defense

Space and Defense

No abstract provided.

Front Matter Volume 8 No. 1, Space And Defense

Space and Defense

No abstract provided.

Six-Degree-Of-Freedom Optimal Feedback Control Of Pinpoint Landing Using Deep Neural Networks, Omkar S. Mulekar, Hancheol Cho, Riccardo Bevilacqua

Student Works

Machine learning regression techniques have shown success at feedback control to perform near-optimal pinpoint landings for low fidelity formulations (e.g. 3 degree-of-freedom). Trajectories from these low-fidelity landing formulations have been used in imitation learning techniques to train deep neural network policies to replicate these optimal landings in closed loop. This study details the development of a near-optimal, neural network feedback controller for a 6 degree-of-freedom pinpoint landing system. To model disturbances, the problem is cast as either a multi-phase optimal control problem or a triple single-phase optimal control problem to generate examples of optimal control through the presence of disturbances. …

Notes For Contributors, Space And Defense

Space and Defense

No abstract provided.

Publisher’S Corner Space Policy’S Salt Moment, Roger G. Harrison

Space and Defense

The market for a leap forward in space arms control is open. Now, who’s buying? The United States is facing a fundamental decision about space policy which arises from a question: does our national interest in an ordered space environment trump our absolute insistence on a policy of freedom of action? Or is the looming threat of over-crowded orbits, frequency interference and debris – of contested, congested and competitive space – so pressing that we must accept some greater transparency for our national security space operations, even greater information sharing with China, Russia, and commercial space operators, and perhaps some …

Book Review Crowded Orbits: Conflict And Cooperation In Space By James Clay Moltz (Columbia University Press, 2014), Deron Jackson

Space and Defense

A popular space primer serves both the policy and academic communities. Human beings have perceived outer space as infinite for centuries, and since the observations of Edwin Hubble in the 1920s, scientists have studied phenomena that suggest the universe itself is expanding. However, as the title of Clay Moltz’s most recent book points out, the region of space most important to the economic and physical security of residents on Earth is increasingly viewed as far from infinite.

Meeting Growth Challenges Of Mexico Aerospace: The Queretaro Cluster, Monica Casalet

Space and Defense

Growing the Aerospace sector in Mexico requires multilevel agreement between original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), including foreign companies, and national and sub-national governments to stimulate programs and instruments for sector growth. In addition, space for local learning must be cultivated within a process of production organized hierarchically and highly regulated on the international level. The case of the Queretaro cluster is important due to the density of networks created, extensive public-private collaboration, and the emergence of specialized institutions to train and shape highly skilled (professionals and technicians) in the aerospace industry. Ultimately, there remains an important vacuum to fill in the …

Brazil Space: Military Dependency And The Case Of The Geostationary Satellite Of Defense And Strategic Communications, Gills Vilar Lopes

Space and Defense

In Brazil, there has been no transition model of space capabilities promoted by the military sphere (especially the Brazilian Air Force) for nurturing the civil one (Brazilian Space Agency). Drawing upon official documents and legislation as primary sources, the case study of the Geostationary Satellite of Defense and Strategic Communications (SGDC) is analyzed in light of the space strategic sector. Main factors that impede the PEB are related to military-technological dependence and poor resource management, with draconian budget cuts and projects canceled before having achieved realistic milestones.