Key Reports and Papers

From Venus to Mars - The European Union's steps towards the militarization of space is a November 17, 2008 report of the Transnational Institute. It examines the emergence of a European military space policy in the context of an international contest to dominate the “high ground” of space.

A Plan for Action is a new report from the Brookings Institute's Managing Global Insecurity Project. It looks at a new era of international cooperation for a changed world: 2009, 2010, and beyond the 21st century - cooperation that will be defined by security threats unconstrained by borders—from climate change, nuclear proliferation, and terrorism to conflict, poverty, disease, and economic instability. The greatest test of global leadership will be building partnerships and institutions for cooperation that can meet the challenge.

Kaufman, Richard, H. Hertzfeld and J. Lewis. Space, Security and the Economy, September 2008. Economists for Peace and Security, with support from the Arsenault Family Fund, released a report on the Bush Administration's outer space policy. The report warns that the present policy of space dominance could transform outer space into a military battleground. Official US policy asserts the right to deny any nation access to space if its actions are "perceived" to be hostile. This policy, together with other actions such as withdrawal from the ABM treaty and the ongoing development of weapons intended to attack objects in space could lead to the deployment of weapons in space. If the US stations weapons in space other nations are likely to do the same thing and we will be faced with an arms race in space. No one, the report, concludes, can prevail and all stand to lose in an arms race in space. Among other consequences would be negative effects on the economy and the growing scientific and commercial uses of space. In particular, private investors are unlikely to place additional resources at risk in a vulnerable area of potential military conflict. The report calls for changes in the policy of space dominance, greater transparency in military space spending, and detailed information about government and commercial space activities.

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Work of the Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters, Report of the Secretary-General, August 2008. The Secretary-General’s Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters held its forty-ninth and fiftieth sessions, respectively, in New York from 20 to 22 February and in Geneva from 9 to 11 July 2008. In order to improve its method of work, the Board agreed to focus its deliberations during both sessions on three agenda items (a) issues of energy security and environment in the field of disarmament and non-proliferation, (b) the “Hoover Plan” for nuclear disarmament: multilateralism and the United Nations dimension and (c) emerging weapons technologies, including outer space aspects (a continuation of discussions from the forty-eighth session in 2007).

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Review of Directed Energy Technology for Countering Rockets, Artillery, and Mortars (RAM), Committee on Directed Energy Technology for Countering Indirect Weapons, National Research Council. The United States Army is looking for ways to defend against missile and mortar attacks. In this book, the National Research Council assesses a plan to create a 100 kW mobile, solid-state, laser weapon that could defend an area several kilometers in diameter. The report also includes recommendations.

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China's Strategic Modernization - Report from the International Security Advisory Board (ISAB). The Task Force carries a number of references to China's space assets and emerging capabilities. The full report by the U.S. State Department's Advisory Board can be viewed here.

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Report on Challenges and Recommendations for United States Overhead Architecture, submitted by the U.S. House of Representatives Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Subcommittee on Technical and Tactical Intelligence, October 3, 2008.

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China, Space Weapons, and U.S. Security is a report by the Council on Foreign Relations. The report explores the strategic landscape of this new military space competition and highlights the dangers and opportunities the United States confronts in the space arena.

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"Analysis of a Draft Treaty on Prevention of the Placement of Weapons in Outer Space, or the Threat or Use of Force Against Outer Space Objects," letter from the Permanent Representative of the United States of America at the Conference on Disarmament, August 19, 2008.

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The Commission to Assess the Threat to the United States from Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) Attack recently released its report. Chapter 10, which focuses on space systems, is provided here.

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National Defense Strategy is a June 2008 report issued by the U.S. Department of Defense. This document spells out DoD thinking regarding the strategic environment of today, as well as objectives to defend the homeland. In this cause, the report notes that "the United States requires freedom of action in the global commons and strategic access to important regions of the world to meet our national security needs." One of the areas noted in the report is anti-access technologies and tactics to undermine use of space to obtain U.S. national security objectives.

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Defense Space Activities: DOD Needs to Further Clarify the Operationally Responsive Space Concept and Plan to Integrate and Support Future Satellites. GAO-08-831, July 11.

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Defense Space Activities: DOD Needs to Further Clarify the Operationally Responsive Space Concept and Plan to Integrate and Support Future Satellites (July 11, 2008) is a report by the General Accountability Office. Highlights of the report are available at here.

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Behrens, Carl and M. Nikitin. "Extending NASA's Exemption from the Iran, North Korea, and Syria Nonproliferation Act," Congressional Research Service (CRS) Report to Congress, May 8, 2008. This document - RL34477 - is dated May 8, 2008 and deals with the Iran Nonproliferation Act of 2000 (INA) that was enacted to help stop foreign transfers to Iran of weapons of mass destruction, missile technology, and advanced conventional weapons technology, particularly from Russia. Section 6 of the INA banned U.S. payments to Russia in connection with the International Space Station (ISS) unless the U.S. President determined that Russia was taking steps to prevent such proliferation. When the President in 2004 announced that the Space Shuttle would be retired in 2010, the Russian Soyuz became the only vehicle available after that date to transport astronauts to and from the ISS. In 2005 Congress amended INA to exempt Soyuz flights to the ISS from the Section 6 ban through 2011. It also extended the provisions to Syria and North Korea, and renamed it the Iran, North Korea, and Syria Nonproliferation Act (INKSNA). NASA has now asked Congress to extend the exemption for the life of the ISS, or until U.S. crew transport vehicles become operational.

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Methodology for Improving the Planning, Execution, and Assessment of Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Operations, RAND, 2008.

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New Approaches to Planning, Executing, and Assessing Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Operations, RAND, 2008.

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Military Power of the People's Republic of China 2008, Office of the Secretary of Defense, 2008. This is an annual report to Congress issued by the U.S. Office of the Secretary of Defense. This year's report notes China's January 2007 successful test of a direct-ascent, anti-satellite weapon, part of an ongoing effort, the DoD assets, of China's expansion from the land, air, and sea dimensions of the traditional battlefield into the space and cyber-space domains. A section of the report is dedicated to space and counterspace initiatives.

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Reaching Critical Will wrote a short assessment in on February 19, 2008 of the Conference on Disarmement preceedings focused on the U.S. action to destroy one of its defunct satellites as a safety precaution.

Americans and Russians on Space Weapons is a joint study of WorldPublicOpinion.org and the Advanced Methods of Cooperative Security Program of The Center for International and Security Studies at the University of Maryland was released on January 24, 2008. The Secure World Foundation has also published a fact sheet on the data which can be downloaded here.

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A Comparison of Science and Technology Funding for DoD's Space and Nonspace Programs. This is an analysis done by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and issued January 15, 2008. CBO considered whether a difference exists between the funding that the Defense Department provides for unclassified science and technology (S&T) activities that support such space programs and the funding it provides for S&T activities that support other, nonspace programs. DMSP, NPOESS, DSP, and SBIRS-H programs are spotlighted. Many nuggets of information here and is well worth reading in detail.

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Transparency and confidence-building measures in outer space activities, report of the Secretary General of the United Nations from the Geral Assembly, 62nd session, September 17. 2007.