The theoretical foundations of spacepower: from economics to asymmetric warfare / Shawn W. Hackett.

Format:

Book

Government document

Author/Creator:

Hackett, Shawn W., author.

Contributor:

Air University (U.S.). School of Advanced Air and Space Studies, issuing body/.

Air University (U.S.). Press, publisher.

Series:

Drew paper ; no. 38.

Drew paper ; no. 38

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Astronautics and civilization.

Space warfare.

Asymmetric warfare.

United States--Military policy.

United States.

Military policy.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (x, 82 pages) : illustrations (mostly color).

Other Title:

At head of title: Air University, School of Advanced Air And Space Studies

Place of Publication:

Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama : Air University Press, 2024.

System Details:

text file PDF

Summary:

"The primary purpose of this study is to establish a foundation for a military theory of spacepower. This work proceeds to establish how the universal logical basis of military theory must be coupled with different assumptions for each separate domain of warfare to establish a unique theory of warfare in that domain. Military theory from one domain cannot be simply grafted into other domains. Naval and airpower theory are not also spacepower theory. I instead use past military theory as a starting place for examining what makes domains of warfare unique. Initially, this study examines historical theories of warfare in the land, naval, and air domains to establish a series of four essential questions who seanswers served as the catalyst for the creation of separate naval and air theories of warfare. These four questions revolve around four respective elements of either national or military power: concentration, lines of communications, attack and defense, and political objectives. The answer and examination of these four questions for the specific case of spacepower in detail form the bulk of this work. To explain the idea of concentration of spacepower, I introduce the terms positive (beneficial) and negative (depriving) spacepower. I develop corresponding continuums of competition and conflict for positive and negative spacepower, respectively. With regard to lines of communications in space, I find that the vastness of space and reliance on photonic (light-based) communications and ground-based resupply impart a series of singular dynamics to the space domain. These dynamics--spectrum superiority, adaptive logistics, solar power--shape the conduct of space warfare in unexpected ways. To avoid unduly complicating space theory, I readapt Clausewitz's land-centric definitions of attack and defense to a nonterrestrial context. Employing these updated definitions, my examination then shows that depriving spacepower through asymmetric warfare is currently the most efficient strategy. I conversely show that gaining beneficial spacepower is typically most efficient via a symmetric approach in which most states build similar space assets. Lastly, I establish the importance of spacepower within a state's overall political and military strategy. I hold that space professionals must both recognize that space provides a critical linkage for warfare in other domains and that space warfare must be planned and conducted differently than conflicts in other domains. Ultimately, this work concludes that spacepower is best sought by understanding both the deprivation and derivation of national power from space. In the near future, spacepower will become an increasingly critical component of economic and military discourse for both small and great state alike. This work, therefore, seeks to regularize and apply rigor to the military theory of the space domain by discarding simplistic applications of military theory from other domains and instead examining space as a separate, unique warfighting domain."--Abstract.

Contents:

Fundamentals

A theoretical framework for domain warfare

Concentrating spacepower

Communication and reconstitution in space

Attack, defense, symmetry, and asymmetry in space

Achieving political and military goals with spacepower

Implications and recommendations.

Notes:

"Accepted by Air University Press June 2023 and published June 2024"--Page ii.

In scope of the U.S. Government Publishing Office Cataloging and Indexing Program (C&I) and Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP).

Includes bibliographical references (pages 77-82).

Description based on online resource; title from PDF file (Air University Press website, viewed on July 1, 2024).

OCLC:

1443181538