Customer Reviews

Space as a Strategic Asset

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Anyone who follows either NASA's human spaceflight program or U.S. military ambitions in space has probably heard plenty of rosy forecasts from the government agencies involved (and their contractors) and plenty of skepticism from the wider community. Joan Johnson-Freese is a long-time observer of all of this activity who has given us a lucid assessment of what's going on beneath the surface. The first sentence of her preface tells us that "The United States is currently the preeminent global space power." The rest of the book is a big "however..." that I believe is neatly summarized by her last sentence in Chapter 6: "We are committing strategic suicide."
She chronicles a disturbing array of ill-conceived policies that will lead to programmatic failures (e.g., NASA's Moon-Mars plans) and massive investment of scarce resources in projects that do not serve - and may undermine - the national interest (e.g., missile defense and space weapons). She advocates much greater cultivation of "soft power" (in which human spaceflight plays a big role) rather than fixation on development of "hard power" in space. Throughout the book the reader is presented with evidence that clearly points to a national epidemic of short-term thinking in space strategy.
The author's extensive experience on the international scene is particularly evident in Chapter 7 (on Europe) and Chapter 8 (on China), which highlight an apparent inability of the U.S. to learn from its past experiences. Even more important, in my opinion, is her description and analysis of the nation's counterproductive export control policies that have been in place since 1999. This theme can be found throughout the book, but is addressed in detail in Chapter 2 ("The Conundrum of Dual-Use Technology") and Chapter 6 ("The Politicization of the U.S. Aerospace Industry"). These chapters are essential reading for anyone unfamiliar with this troubling situation, and also are valuable for those who are more informed because they present the most cogent arguments I've seen in any of the multitude of materials I've read on this subject.
In the spirit of full disclosure, I should note that I've known Joan since 1989 and have read many of her publications since that time. As a result, I feel confident that she is someone who should be listened to when she suggests a preferred path to civil, commercial, and military space leadership (Chapter 9). In addition to her many years of research and teaching experience in both civilian and military institutions, she is well-connected and respected in the European and Asian space communities. Her ability to perceive the big picture is something we desperately need today.