Building a United States Space Force
Abstract
The time has come for the United States to build a Space Force. A Space Force is not a new concept and has been proposed many times in the past. Elected officials like U.S. Senator Bob Smith and members of the Space Commission brought up the idea of creating a U.S. Space Force. (McConnell, May 20, 2001). What exactly do I mean when I say create a Space Force? Am I proposing a group of space fighter pilots, as we see in the movies that travel around establishing bases on other planets? Alternatively, am I talking about an organization specifically dedicated to protecting U.S. space interests? In short the answer to both is, yes! Before you file this paper with your science fiction section, there are a few quantifiers we need to cover along with a few treaties we need to explore. In this article, I will cover the following: The reasons for the U.S. Space Force; the legal constraints on such a force to include the ways around them; and why the U.S. Space Force needs to be separate from the other services to meet the objectives of true space superiority. To examine these topics, we must look at the Outer Space Treaty and its limitations on establishing a moon base, maneuvering military vessels in space, and what types of weapons can be used in space. We also need to look at what the service priorities are and how they affect satellite acquisition.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2010
- Accession Number
- ADA525363
Entities
People
- William S. Moncrief
Organizations
- United States Army Space and Missile Defense Command