Space as a strategic geography

Abstract

Space is a congested, contested, and competitive physical domain of growing strategic importance. As such, it is useful, and topical, to consider space in the context of strategic geography, which has long been a central tenet of national interests and national security. Traditionally though, the concept of strategic geography has been constrained primarily by terrestrial considerations, a limitation that discussion of the space domain must redress in order to better underpin the evolving character and conceptualisation of space power. It is in this context that space must be realised as a unique operating domain that critically facilitates global interconnectedness and interdependence in terms of economic, geopolitical, and social considerations. This is all the more important noting the growing accessibility to space by state, non-state, and commercial actors makes it not only more valuable but also more vulnerable.