PREFACE

This report presents the results of a study conducted in 19931994 that examined the extent to which spacepower (both military and economic) will influence national security strategy and the conduct of future military operations. It
was updated and revised in 1997 to reflect the changes that have occurred in
military space policies, organizations, and operations and in the expanding
commercial space sector since 1994. The report attempts to articulate the key
military space policy issues facing the United States and place them in the
larger context of a changing strategic environment to define new options for the
exercise of spacepower in the pursuit of national interests.
The motivation for the study was twofold: (1) to educate decisionmakers on the
exploitation of spacepower in the pursuit of national security interests, and (2)
to provide an overview of economic security issues facing military planners who
are already familiar with military space policies, programs, and trends. Since
the research for the study was completed in 1994, many aspects of the trends
discussed here concerning the commercial space market have come about. For
example, a Presidential Directive on the Global Positioning System (GPS) was
issued in March 1996, and a new National Space Policy was released in
September 1996. Furthermore, several defense- and intelligence-communityrelated initiatives concerning space program management and operations that
were begun in 19941995 are still unfolding as this document goes to print.
The research and analysis was conducted under the auspices of RANDs National Defense Research Institute, specifically the International Security and
Defense Policy Center. NDRI is a federally funded research and development
center sponsored by the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Joint Staff, the
unified commands, and the defense agencies.
The report should be of interest to persons concerned with U.S. military doctrine, strategy, policy, and force planning, as well as those interested in the future of civil/military relations in technology policy and space policy.

iii