Force Space Research Articles

The Space Force and the National Security Act: All New Endeavours Suffer Growing Pains

The article details the history of the National Security Act (NSA), the National Security Council (NSC), Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the newly created Space Force (SF) in correlation to a changing political and international landscape from the 1940s to 2021. Primary and secondary sources were reviewed and included military and intelligence experts, interviews, as well as the foundation documents and laws for the NSA. Comparatively, the NSA and these organizations are examined in parallel to the evolving international political landscape. Also, these organizations all faced similar confrontations which include, but are not limited to, the reassignment of different roles, bureaucracy, and chain of command. Yet, the NSA and the creation of these intelligence organizations as well as the new branch of the military, the Space Force, are proactive measures for the United States to maintain efficacy, advantages, and potency in the domain of space which, from a military perspective protects satellites. It also includes the temporal use of individuals getting gasoline at gas pumps and the use of cell phones. Even so, all new ventures like the SF and the foundational NSA experience challenges, controversy, confrontations, and, at times, harsh critiques. Yet, the NSA’s broad-reaching security framework is still relevant and malleable to twenty-first-century policy, intelligence, and military needs. The NSA can and has met the current and future security threats like terrorism, and the new frontiers of space. Additionally, the newest member of the intelligence community, the Space Force, is a critical component to the United States military and intelligence presence in space.

Defence and Discovery: Canada’s Military Space Program, 1945–74, by Andrew B. Godefroy

Andrew B. Godefroy, Defence and Discovery: Canada's Military Space Program, 1945-74, Vancouver: UBC Press, 2012. 256 pp., ISBN: 978-0774819602, $32.95 (pbk)Defence and Discovery sets out to provide reader with an analysis of Canada's role in exploration of upper atmosphere and outer space from end of Second World War in 1945 until ratification of country's first space policy in 1974. As author indicates, the book seeks to reveal nature of first three decades of Canada's exploration of space and to place it within wider context of political history of Canadian science and technology (6).Organized chronologically and thematically, Defence and Discovery examines specific periods of space research and technological development and key players who were involved in this important activity. Godefroy begins his analysis by looking at security and aerospace research prior to Soviet Union's launch of Sputnik rocket in October 1957. Next, he turns to Canada's engagement with missiles and rocketry, with particular focus on development of Black Brant rocket and Churchill range. Sequentially, Godefroy then examines Canada's early space policies, nation's development and launching of Alouette satellite followed by agreement with United States on use international satellites for ionospheric studies. The book then looks at Canada's participation in militarization and weaponization of space in 1960s with particular emphasis on anti-ballistic missile defence activities and Royal Canadian Air Force's space defence program. Godefroy concludes his examination by discussing demise of Cold War space program and Canada's new agenda for activity in outer space. The reader will not be surprised to learn that money, resources, and politics played key roles in demise of Canada's ambitions in space in 1960s.Defence and Discovery is a well-written book with significant amounts of primary source research and technical detail about Canada's engagement and scientific and technological developments in upper atmosphere and space. Considered from a scholarly perspective, this book clearly provides a wealth of evidence and technical detail about its subject. It is a significant addition to body of knowledge on Canada's history with space. As author himself observes, there has been very little scholarly work completed in this subject area. However, scholarly strength of this work is also a weakness for general reader. It is a detail-oriented monograph that is not an easy read for someone without an existing understanding of Canada's military and political history. …

Erratum

In Eliot Marshall's article "Reinventing the space truck" (News & Comment, 16 Oct., p. 266), the photo identification was reversed. The Martin Marietta rocket design was on the right, and the Hughes Aircraft design was on the left. Also, the Air Force's Space Division is in Los Angeles, not Denver.

Erratum: Reinventing the Space Truck

In Eliot Marshall's article "Reinventing the space truck" (News & Comment, 16 Oct., p. 266), the photo identification was reversed. The Martin Marietta rocket design was on the right, and the Hughes Aircraft design was on the left. Also, the Air Force's Space Division is in Los Angeles, not Denver.