The Militarization of Space: U.S. Policy, 1945-1984From the front jacket flap: Contrary to widespread expectations in the wake of Sputnik, outer space did not immediately become a new arena for a superpower arms competition. Although the United States and the Soviet Union began to use space extensively for military purposes, both exhibited relatively little interest in the development of space weaponry. By the beginning of the 1980s, however, an arms race in space seemed inevitable. Now both the United States and the Soviet Union have developed the means to disable satellites and are now also considering the deployment of ballistic missile defenses in space. Why were these weapons never extensively developed earlier? What changed in the late 1970s to reverse the predominant trend in the militarization of space? What are the lessons for arms control and for Soviet-American relations in general? Paul Stares addresses these fundamental questions by examining the factors that have shaped United States policy towards the military use of space and in particular the development of antisatellite weapons. States relies heavily on declassified documents found in Presidential libraries and made available under the Freedom of Information Act, and he obtained additional information from a comprehensive series of interview with former members of the U.S. government and armed services. By judicious use of this material, he provides the first detailed account of United States space weapons policy and programs. An invaluable source of information for defense analysts and scholars of international relations, The Militarization of Space is essential reading for anyone wishing to understand present United States military space policy and its implications for the future. |
Contents
Acknowledgements | 9 |
The Origins of the US Military | 22 |
Eisenhower and the Space Challenge | 38 |
Copyright | |
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Common terms and phrases
87th Congress administration agreement Air Force Air Force's antisatellite system antisatellite weapons arms control arms race Army ASAT arms control ASAT programme ASAT system ASAT testing Aviation Week ballistic missile Committee Congress DDR&E Defense Department Department of Defense Eisenhower funding further Garthoff George Kistiakowsky Ibid intercept Johnson Johnston Island June Kennedy Kistiakowsky Kosmos laser later launch McNamara Memorandum military satellites military space programme mission NASA National Security negotiations Nike Zeus nuclear October Office operational orbit Outer Space Outer Space Treaty President Program 437 proposal radar recommendations reconnaissance satellites research and development rocket satellite interceptor satellite reconnaissance Secretary of Defense Senate Soviet ASAT Soviet military Soviet satellite Soviet space Soviet Space Programs Soviet Union space activities space policy space systems Space Technology space weapon Sputnik strategic target threat Treaty Tyuratam United USAF vehicle Washington weapon system Week & Space White House