A variety of new space technologies are emerging in the U.S. space industry, and policymakers should look for ways to facilitate this innovation and make these technologies more accessible to civil, commercial, and military space customers.
Topic: Civil and Commercial Space
Commercial and Civil Space analyzes how U.S. civil and commercial space programs can be used to promote norms of behavior in space and enhance U.S. national security in the space domain. It explores international partnerships in space, efforts to reduce the costs of launch, new commercial space technologies, and policy issues that affect civil and commercial space programs.
Space Is Booming, America’s Next Heavy-Lift Rocket Should Reflect That
As the U.S. government leaves the RD-180 rocket engine behind, it should position itself to support and reap the benefits of the growth in orbital markets.
Ultra-Low-Cost Access to Space: What it Means and When it’s Coming
In this video, CSIS experts Todd Harrison and Andrew Hunter explore the unique trends in low-cost access to space, identify key opportunities for further cost reductions and policies needed to spur innovation, and explore new military missions that would be enabled if these trends lead to significant reductions in the cost of access to space.
Implications of Ultra-Low-Cost Access to Space
To understand a future where the cost of access to space is only a fraction of what it is today, CSIS turned to a curated group of space experts, including launch providers, satellite manufacturers, government analysts, space law practitioners, and military strategists. This report details trends in low-cost access to space, identifies key opportunities for further cost reductions and policies needed to spur innovation, and explores new military missions that would be enabled if these trends lead to significant reductions in the cost of access to space.
Beyond the RD-180
This report explores how the United States came to depend on the Russian RD-180 rocket engine as part of the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program, realistic options for the engine’s replacement in the coming decade, and potential space launch acquisition strategies for the future.
NASA in the Second Space Age: Exploration, Partnering, and Security
How does the world’s leading federal space agency adapt to changes in the space domain? If NASA is no longer operating in a peaceful sanctuary, how should its goals in exploration and global partnerships change?
Next Steps for Japan-U.S. Cooperation in Space
The space domain is increasingly important to Japan and the United States for both military security and economic prosperity. Space has also become a key enabler for the projection of military power, allowing mobile forces to be networked over greater distances and across all regions of the globe. What are the next steps for Japan – U.S. cooperation in the space domain?
If Russia is Selling, the Pentagon Should Keep Buying — Rocket Engines, That Is
What’s the rush? Before hastily cutting off the engines we need, Congress should set the conditions for a better American space launch market.