U.S. Control of Space: Essential to Our National Security
Abstract
On October 4, 1957 the Soviet Union launched Sputnik I, the first man-made satellite into low earth orbit. Although harmless, Sputnik I "beeped" continuously for over 3 weeks as it orbited the earth every 95 minutes and touched off a wave of anxiety in the United States. The race for space was on and those who had spent time pondering the potential impact of space on our national security clearly understood what Sputnik meant. Perhaps U.S. Air Force General Bernard Schriever, the father of our national military space program, summed it up best in 1957 when he recognized that "...in the long haul, our safety as a nation may depend upon our achieving space superiority. Several decades from now the important battles may not be sea battles or air battles but space battles..." General Schriever's assessment reflects the minds of U.S. strategists at the time and is now appreciated as a brilliant display of forward thinking about the importance of space to our national security. Since the dawn of the space age and Sputnik 41 years ago, space has played an increasing role in our national security and has had phenomenal effect on the development of our nation's science, technology, and economy. Today, there are over 2,560 active satellites in orbit around the earth. In addition to satellites, there are 88 deep space probes and over 6,100 various pieces of debris totaling over 8,800 man-made objects in space. Like General Schriever, today's strategists are again rediscovering that the ability to control space is essential to our national security. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of space control, review the present-day importance of space systems to the United States, discuss current and emerging threats to our space systems, address current issues regarding the control of space, and offer several recommendations as to how the Unites States should proceed to further enhance its national security concerning space.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 03, 1999
- Accession Number
- ADA529068
Entities
People
- J. P. Squatrito
Organizations
- Marine Corps War College