The United States Space Force: Space, Grand Strategy, and U.S. National Security

169 Pages·2022·5.96 MB·English

by  Lamont C. Colucci

THE UNITED STATES
SPACE FORCE
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THE UNITED STATES
SPACE FORCE
Space, Grand Strategy,
and U.S. National Security
LAMONT C. COLUCCI
Praeger Security International
Copyright © 2023 by Lamont C. Colucci
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording, or otherwise, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review, without
prior permission in writing from the publisher.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Colucci, Lamont, author.
Title: The United States Space Force : space, grand strategy, and U.S.
national security / Lamont C. Colucci.
Description: Santa Barbara, California : Praeger, [2023] | Series: Praeger
security international | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2022039016 (print) | LCCN 2022039017 (ebook) | ISBN
9781440874833 (cloth) | ISBN 9781440874840 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: United States. Space Force. | National security—United
States. | Outer space—Strategic aspects.
Classification: LCC UG1523 .C657 2023 (print) | LCC UG1523 (ebook) | DDC
358/.800973—dc23/eng/20220919
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022039016
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022039017
ISBN: 978-1-4408-7483-3 (print)
978-1-4408-7484-0 (ebook)
27 26 25 24 23 1 2 3 4 5
This book is also available as an eBook.
Praeger
An Imprint of ABC-CLIO, LLC
ABC-CLIO, LLC
147 Castilian Drive
Santa Barbara, California 93117
www.abc-clio.com
This book is printed on acid-free paper
Manufactured in the United States of America
To my wife, Kathryn, and our children Isabella, Alfred, and Roland.
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Contents
Preface ix
Introduction xi
1. America at the Crossroads of Grand Strategy 1
2. History 25
3. Grand Strategy and Space Dominance 41
4. Space Intelligence 53
5. Allies, Diplomacy, and International Law 59
6. The Triplanetary Economy 67
7. Strategic Competition, Great Powers, Threats, and Enemies 75
8. The Service and the Mission 91
9. Pax Americana and Pax Astra 99
Bibliography 131
Index 149
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Preface
Like so many of Generation X, I grew up with the original Star Trek as an
entry point. More important than the genre of science fiction was the topic
of space. My generation then became the children of the original Star Wars
trilogy of the 1970s and ’80s. There is much merriment to be made pitting
Star Trek fans against Star Wars fans. I have participated in this myself and
am ambivalent at best toward the “hardcore” fans whose entire life centers
around a work of fiction. I am even more negative toward the naysayers
who view the entire genre poorly. To date, I have yet to meet many seri-
ous Space Force visionaries who are not “Trekkies” in some way, shape,
or form.
However, this is not a book about science fiction, and it is not a book
only about Space Force. It is about the synthesis among a new Ameri-
can military branch, our overall strategy, our vision of space, and a new
economic revolution that will change the planet’s destiny. It is also about
those dark forces that seek to overtake America in this quest and create a
dystopia of violence and chaos.
This preface is being written during the 2022 Russian invasion of
Ukraine. Whatever the outcome of this conflict, it simply reinforces what
I have been writing and speaking about for two decades. Great power
conflict is not back. It never left. Russia has its own set of vital and
national interests. These are often and will often be in direct competition
with those of the United States. The same goes for China. The Russian
invasion also illustrates another theme. This is the problem of the lack of
strategic vision, in particular, grand strategy, in American policy circles.
The myopic policy missteps of the Obama years, which were rife, is a bill