Though more than forty years old, the space age has just begun, and questions about its future abound. What will replace the Space Shuttle? Will the International Space Station justify its $100 billion potential cost? Are asteroids real threats to Earth or just the subject of science fiction movies? Will humans land on Mars? Will the search for extraterrestrial life be rewarded? In Space Policy in the Twenty-First Century, W. Henry Lambright brings together ten top-ranking observers of United States space exploration to address these and other issues relating to the future of the space program. While the U.S. no longer competes with the Soviets for technological "firsts," they argue, ideology and national image remain at the core of space policy, with other factors playing subordinate roles. Reminding readers of the historical highlights, the authors pose searching questions about the priorities and applications of space science, manned vs. unmanned flights, and commercial access to the space enterprise. Contributors include: Christopher F. Chyba, SETI Institute and Stanford University; Ronald J. Deibert, University of Toronto; Daniel H. Deudney, the Johns Hopkins University; W. Henry Lambright, Syracuse University; Roger D. Launius, NASA; Karl A. Leib, Syracuse University; John M. Logsdon, George Washington University; Howard E. McCurdy, American University; Scott N. Pace, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy; and Debora L. VanNijnatten, Wilfrid Laurier University.

A memorandum from the President of the United States on December 9, 2020 explains this document: MEMORANDUM FOR THE VICE PRESIDENTTHE SECRETARY OF STATETHE SECRETARY OF DEFENSETHE ATTORNEY GENERALTHE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIORTHE SECRETARY OF COMMERCETHE SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATIONTHE SECRETARY OF ENERGYTHE SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITYTHE DIRECTOR OF THE OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGETTHE DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCETHE ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT FOR NATIONAL SECURITY AFFAIRSTHE ADMINISTRATOR OF THE NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATIONTHE DIRECTOR OF THE OFFICE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY POLICYTHE CHAIRMAN OF THE JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFFSUBJECT: The National Space PolicySection 1. References. This directive supersedes Presidential Policy Directive - 4 (June 29, 2010) and references, promotes, and reemphasizes the following policy directives and memoranda: a) Presidential Policy Directive 26 - National Space Transportation Policy (November 21, 2013)b) Executive Order 13803 - Reviving the National Space Council (June 30, 2017)c) Space Policy Directive 1 - Reinvigorating America's Human Space Exploration Program (December 11, 2017)d) The National Space Strategy (March 23, 2018)e) Space Policy Directive 2 - Streamlining Regulations on Commercial Use of Space (May 24, 2018)f) Space Policy Directive 3 - National Space Traffic Management Policy (June 18, 2018)g) Space Policy Directive 4 - Establishment of the United States Space Force (February 19, 2019)h) National Security Presidential Memorandum 20 - Launch of Spacecraft Containing Space Nuclear Systems (August 20, 2019)i) Executive Order 13906 - Amending Executive Order 13803 - Reviving the National Space Council (February 13, 2020)j) Executive Order 13905 - Strengthening National Resilience Through Responsible Use of Positioning, Navigation, and Timing Services (February 12, 2020)k) Executive Order 13914 - Encouraging International Support for the Recovery and Use of Space Resources (April 6, 2020)l) Space Policy Directive 5 - Cybersecurity Principles for Space Systems (September 4, 2020)It is, in other words, a vitally important planning documen

Fifty years after the founding of NASA, from 28 to 29 October 2008, the NASA History Division convened a conference whose purpose was a scholarly analysis of NASA's first 50 years. Over two days at NASA Headquarters, historians and policy analysts discussed NASA's role in aeronautics, human spaceflight, exploration, space science, life science, and Earth science, as well as crosscutting themes ranging from space access to international relations in space and NASA's interaction with the public. The speakers were asked to keep in mind the following questions: What are the lessons learned from the first 50 years? What is NASA's role in American culture and in the history of exploration and discovery? What if there had never been a NASA? Based on the past, does NASA have a future? The results of those papers, elaborated and fully referenced, are found in this 50th anniversary volume. The reader will find here, instantiated in the complex institution that is NASA, echoes of perennial themes elaborated in an earlier volume, Critical Issues in the History of Spaceflight. The conference culminated a year of celebrations, beginning with an October 2007 conference celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Space Age and including a lecture series, future forums, publications, a large presence at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, and numerous activities at NASA's 10 Centers and venues around the country. It took place as the Apollo 40th anniversaries began, ironically still the most famous of NASA's achievements, even in the era of the Space Shuttle, International Space Station (ISS), and spacecraft like the Mars Exploration Rovers (MERs) and the Hubble Space Telescope. And it took place as NASA found itself at a major crossroads, for the first time in three decades transitioning, under Administrator Michael Griffin, from the Space Shuttle to a new Ares launch vehicle and Orion crew vehicle capable of returning humans to the Moon and proceeding to Mars in a program known as Constellation. The Space Shuttle, NASA's launch system since 1981, was scheduled to wind down in 2010, freeing up funds for the new Ares launch vehicle. But the latter, even if it moved forward at all deliberate speed, would not be ready until 2015, leaving the unsettling possibility that for at least five years the United States would be forced to use the Russian Soyuz launch vehicle and spacecraft as the sole access to the ISS in which the United States was the major partner. The presidential elections a week after the conference presaged an imminent presidential transition, from the Republican administration of George W. Bush to (as it turned out) the Democratic presidency of Barack Obama, with all the uncertainties that such transitions imply for government programs. The uncertainties for NASA were even greater, as Michael Griffin departed with the outgoing administration and as the world found itself in an unprecedented global economic downturn, with the benefits of national space programs questioned more than ever before. There was no doubt that 50 years of the Space Age had altered humanity in numerous ways ranging from applications satellites to philosophical world views. Throughout its 50 years, NASA has been fortunate to have a strong sense of history and a robust, independent, and objective history program to document its achievements and analyze its activities. Among its flagship publications are Exploring the Unknown: Selected Documents in the History of the U.S. Civil Space Program, of which seven of eight projected volumes were completed at the time of the 50th anniversary. The reader can do no better than to turn to these volumes for an introduction to NASA history as seen through its primary documents. The list of NASA publications at the end of this volume is also a testimony to the tremendous amount of historical research that the NASA History Division has sponsored over the last 50 years, of which this is the latest volume.

The Other Space Race is a unique look at the early U.S. space program and how it both shaped and was shaped by politics during the Cold War. Eisenhower’s “New Look” expanded the role of the Air Force in national security, and ultimately allowed ambitious aerospace projects, namely the “Dyna-Soar,” a bomber equipped with nuclear weapons that would operate in space. Eisenhower’s space policy was purely practical, creating a strong deterrent against the use of nuclear arms against the United States. With the Soviet launch of Sputnik in 1957, the political climate changed, and space travel became part of the United States’ national discourse. Sambaluk explores what followed, including the scuttling of the “Dyna-Soar” program and the transition from Eisenhower’s space policy to John Kennedy’s. This well-argued, well-researched book gives much needed perspective on the Cold War’s influence on space travel and it’s relation to the formation of public policy.

This book analyses the rationale and history of space programs in countries of the developing world. Space was at one time the sole domain of the wealthiest developed countries. However, the last couple of decades of the twentieth century and the first decade of the twenty-first century have witnessed the number of countries with state-supported space programs blossom. Today, no less than twenty-five developing states, including the rapidly emerging economic powers of Brazil (seventh-largest), China (second-largest), and India (fourth-largest), possess active national space programs with already proven independent launch capability or concrete plans to achieve it soon. This work places these programs within the context of international relations theory and foreign policy analysis. The author categorizes each space program into tiers of development based not only on the level of technology utilised, but on how each fits within the country's overall national security and/or development policies. The text also places these programs into an historical context, which enables the author to demonstrate the logical thread of continuity in the political rationale for space capabilities generally. This book will be of much interest to students of space power and politics, development studies, strategic studies and international relations in general.

The past five decades have witnessed often fierce international rivalry in space, but also surprising military restraint. Now, with an increasing number of countries capable of harming U.S. space assets, experts and officials have renewed a long-standing debate over the best route to space security. Some argue that space defenses will be needed to protect critical military and civilian satellites. Others argue that space should be a "sanctuary" from deployed weapons and military conflict, particularly given the worsening threat posed by orbital space debris. Moltz puts this debate into historical context by explaining the main trends in military space developments since Sputnik, their underlying causes, and the factors that are likely to influence their future course. This new edition provides analysis of the Obama administration's space policy and the rise of new actors, including China, India, and Iran. His conclusion offers a unique perspective on the mutual risks militaries face in space and the need for all countries to commit to interdependent, environmentally focused space security.