Publications

The United States continues to debate how to improve the capability, affordability, agility, and resilience of its force structure and posture for national security space activities to address current and emerging threats to the freedom of space. Freedom of access to, passage through, and operations in space are now contested by nations with inimical interests and hostile intentions.

Recent years have witnessed landmark changes in U.S. national security space management, organization, programs, and activities — the most noteworthy of which were the creation of the U.S. Space Force (USSF) as a new armed service to organize, train and equip space forces and re-establishment of the U.S. Space Command (USSPACECOM) to plan and conduct joint and combined military space operations.

You don’t have to search for long to find articles about the dearth of STEM graduates here in the US. Or how many people will be needed in the workforce of the future that will fill high tech, multi-disciplinary and agile teams. It’s not a deep Google search to find references of the National Security implications of limited STEM interest (and other critical fields) needed for complex systems to come to fruition.

The United States is the world’s leader in the exploration and use of outer space. America’s preeminent position in space has provided strategic advantages envied around the world. Since the beginning of the space age, the U.S. has leveraged those advantages to protect and advance U.S. interests and values, defend our nation against foreign threats, enhance public safety, and gain knowledge about our universe and the planet we live on.

There has been a vigorous discussion and debate over the past several decades about whether our nation needs a separate military service for space. In December of 2019, a bipartisan majority in both houses of Congress passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2020 and the NDAA was signed into law on December 20, 2019.

The United States is engaged in a great power competition and confronting an increasing array of threats from state and non-state actors. The imperative to deter the threat or use of force in space, acquire advanced capabilities that outpace the threat and sustain U.S. comparative advantages in space, and plan and execute space operations to deter or if necessary prevail in a conflict involving space, provides an unprecedented opportunity for the federal government to work together and with the private sector in novel ways to address security challenges and opportunities.

Threats to space assets have reemerged with great power competition. Consequently, the U.S. national security space community is debating what capabilities are needed to counter the threat and how to acquire those capabilities as quickly and efficiently as practicable.

In addition to the established threats to our national security space systems from adversarial nations like China and Russia, the United States national security space industrial base is now further impacted by an unprecedented threat: the COVID-19 pandemic.

NSSA is committed to shaping a vibrant national security space enterprise and cultivating a network that fosters dynamic collaboration for the greater good of our nation and our allies.