Heavenly ambitions : America's quest to dominate space / Joan Johnson-Freese.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Johnson-Freese, Joan.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Astronautics and state--United States.

Astronautics and state.

Space race--United States.

Space race.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (190 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Philadelphia : University of Pennsylvania Press, c2009.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

In the popular imagination, space is the final frontier. Will that frontier be a wild west, or will it instead be treated as the oceans are: as a global commons, where commerce is allowed to flourish and no one country dominates? At this moment, nations are free to send missions to Mars or launch space stations. Space satellites are vital to many of the activities that have become part of our daily lives-from weather forecasting to GPS and satellite radio. The militaries of the United States and a host of other nations have also made space a critical arena-spy and communication satellites are essential to their operations. Beginning with the Reagan administration and its attempt to create a missile defense system to protect against attack by the Soviet Union, the U.S. military has decided that the United States should be the dominant power in space in order to protect civilian and defense assets. In Heavenly Ambitions, Joan Johnson-Freese draws from a myriad of sources to argue that the United States is on the wrong path: first, by politicizing the question of space threats and, second, by continuing to believe that military domination in space is the only way to protect U.S. interests in space.Johnson-Freese, who has written and lectured extensively on space policy, lays out her vision of the future of space as a frontier where nations cooperate and military activity is circumscribed by arms control treaties that would allow no one nation to dominate-just as no one nation's military dominates the world's oceans. This is in the world's interest and, most important, in the U.S. national interest.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Acronyms

Preface

Chapter. One Space

Chapter Two. The Evolution of U.S. Space Policy

Chapter Three. Space Weapons

Chapter Four. Strategic Communications

Chapter Five. Diplomacy and Arms Control

Chapter Six. Globalizing Space

Notes

Index

Acknowledgments

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781283890748

1283890747

9780812202366

0812202368

OCLC:

802049509