ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the military uses of outer space and alternative ways, including arms control negotiations and new weapons deployments, of ensuring the survivability of US military space-based systems. It examines the near-term military uses of outer space and some of the technical steps the United States can take to insure that these military activities are secure in time of crisis and war. Both the United States and the Soviet Union rely heavily on space-based systems for a myriad of military activities, including command, communications, and intelligence; weather forecasting and navigation; surveillance and early warning; verification of arms control agreements; and electronic warfare. Supporters of Anti-satellite systems (ASAT) negotiations argue that satellite owners tend to be the victims of satellite killers in ASAT war games. Support for commercial exploitation of outer space falls into two schools of thought: the conservative and the futurist. The difference between the two schools has to do with the time-frame for the industrialization of space.
