View The ASAT Prisoner’s Dilemma: Making the Case for U.S. Leadership and a Unilateral Moratorium on Kinetic-Energy Anti-Satellite Testing By Douglas Loverro, Brian G. Chow, Brandon W. Kelley, Brian Weeden, Robert Cardillo PublishedJanuary 11, 2022 On the 15th anniversary of the first post-Cold War kinetic-energy ASAT test, it’s time for the U.S. to take a stance two RAND researchers structured the fundamental tenets in game theory of what later became known as “The Prisoner’s Dilemma” – a description of a situation in which two perfectly rational actors, ignorant of […]
View Indian Space Policy for the Private Sector By Meera Rohera PublishedDecember 7, 2021 The Draft Space Activities Bill and its Challenges In 2017, the Indian Department of Space (DOS) released the Draft Space Activities Bill, a proposed bill setting goals and regulations for the private space industry. The Draft Bill was drawn up as a result of several startup companies in India expressing interest in space activities and […]
Congressional Testimony: NASA’s Future in Low Earth Orbit By Todd Harrison PublishedSeptember 21, 2021 The following testimony was presented to the House Science, Space, & Technology Committee during its “NASA’s Future in Low Earth Orbit: Considerations for ISS Extension and Transition” hearing on September 21, 2021. Chairman Beyer, Ranking Member Babin, and distinguished members of the Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to testify on this important topic. The […]
View On-Orbit Servicing By Hannah Duke PublishedSeptember 16, 2021 On-orbit servicing is an emerging industry that provides access to satellites in orbit for repairs, upgrades, inspection, maneuvering without regret, and debris mitigation. These capabilities have the potential to revolutionize logistics and resiliency of DoD operations in space.
View Battle Networks and the Future Force: Part 1 By Todd Harrison PublishedAugust 5, 2021 As the first in a series that explores the future of battle networks in the U.S. military—what has become known as Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2)—this paper examines the importance of battle networks to modern military operations and presents a framework of five functional elements that make up a battle network. This framework provides a common basis for conceptualizing and comparing existing systems and proposed new capabilities in terms of how they contribute to JADC2.
View Space Threat Assessment 2021 By Todd Harrison, Kaitlyn Johnson, Joe Moye, Makena Young PublishedApril 1, 2021 Space Threat Assessment 2021 aggregates and analyzes publicly available information on the counterspace capabilities of other nations.
View Counterspace Timeline, 1959 – 2021 PublishedMarch 31, 2021 This repository of counterspace weapons data is comprised of tests, technology demonstrations, and unusual behaviors first identified in our annual Space Threat Assessment report series.
View To Infinity and Beyond: Civil and Commercial Space Policy in the Biden Administration By Kaitlyn Johnson PublishedFebruary 10, 2021 This is a pivotal time for civil and commercial space policy. The Biden administration should build from the successful policies of the Trump administration and look for new ways to engage new partnerships both domestically and internationally.
View The Need for Innovation and Continuity in National Security Space during the Biden Administration By Makena Young PublishedFebruary 10, 2021 National security space policy is at an inflection point. President Biden’s administration has a number of new avenues for progress, but should also continue key Trump-era initiatives.
View Cross-domain Competition: How Organizational Stovepipes Create Risks for Shared Missions By Morgan Dwyer PublishedOctober 29, 2020 Today, traditional nuclear missions increasingly intersect with emerging technical domains such as space and cyber. How can policymakers mitigate the risks that bureaucratic competition can pose to the shared mission of defending the nuclear command, control, and communications (NC3) system?
