Weapons in Space: Technology, Politics, and the Rise and Fall of the Strategic Defense Initiative

Authors

Todd W. Pennington, Center for Strategic Research, Institute for National Strategic Studies, National Defense University

Abstract

Aaron Bateman's Weapons in Space: Technology, Politics, and the Rise and Fall of the Strategic Defense Initiative provides a comprehensive history of the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), revealing its technological, political, and international complexities through newly declassified records. Bateman explores SDI’s origins, rooted in President Reagan’s vision to neutralize nuclear threats, and examines the challenges posed by its reliance on space-based technologies that blurred the line between missile defense and offensive space weapons. The book details the entanglement of SDI with arms control efforts, European allies’ concerns over space militarization, and logistical hurdles like the reliance on NASA’s shuttle program. It also highlights how SDI’s legacy continues to shape modern U.S., Russian, and Chinese views of space as a contested domain in today’s era of great power competition. Bateman’s study is a valuable resource for understanding how the technological and strategic dilemmas of SDI remain relevant to contemporary debates about space militarization and missile defense.

Recommended Citation

Todd W. Pennington, "Weapons in Space: Technology, Politics, and the Rise and Fall of the Strategic Defense Initiative," Joint Force Quarterly 116 (1st Quarter 2025), 130-131, https://digitalcommons.ndu.edu/joint-force-quarterly/vol116/iss4/18.