Low-Cost Access to Space: Military Opportunities and Challenges

Authors

• Philip Stockdale
• Scott Aughenbaugh
• Nickolas J. Boensch

Files

Description

Access to space has long been limited by high costs, but that is starting to change. Falling launch costs, driven largely by commercial innovation, could reshape U.S. military space operations. Today’s space systems rely on a small number of expensive, highly capable satellites. Lower-cost access could enable a shift toward more distributed, flexible architectures and this creates new opportunities. The military could deploy capabilities more quickly, expand missions, and improve resilience. However, this also introduces risks. As access to space becomes cheaper, more actors, including adversaries, can develop and deploy space and missile technologies. This paper argues that the United States must adapt its policies, acquisition models, and strategy to take advantage of these changes while managing emerging threats.

Document Type

Book

Region(s)

Global, United States

Topic(s)

Defense Policy, Emerging Science and Technologies, Space

Publication Date

2-2018

Publisher

National Defense University Press

City

Washington, DC

Keywords

low-cost access to space, ultra-low-cost access to space, ULCATS, space launch costs, commercial space industry, reusable launch vehicles, military space strategy, space architecture, distributed satellites, space resilience, space commercialization, defense innovation, missile proliferation, space policy, national security space

Recommended Citation

Stockdale, Philip; Aughenbaugh, Scott; and Boensch, Nickolas J., "Low-Cost Access to Space: Military Opportunities and Challenges" (2018). Defense Horizons. 5.
https://digitalcommons.ndu.edu/defense-horizons/5