What Should the Space Force Do? Insights from Spacepower Analogies, Doctrine, and Culture

Abstract

This chapter discusses opportunities and challenges facing the U.S. Space Force, a separate branch of the U.S. Armed Forces within the Department of the Air Force that was created in December 2019. Major initial priorities for the Space Force include developing space doctrine and incubating a space-minded culture; blunting counterspace threats; improving space acquisition; and accelerating creation of wealth in and from space. To assess the evolution of spacepower doctrine, the chapter uses Dennis Drew’s doctrine tree model and David Lupton’s four schools of thought about the strategic utility of space capabilities: sanctuary, survivability, control, and high ground. The chapter also addresses several cautions and concerns including the relatively small size of the Space Force; significant dissimilarities between creation of the U.S. Air Force in 1947 and the Space Force in 2019; unintended consequences in impeding airpower development from the United Kingdom’s creation of a relatively small and weak Royal Air Force in 1918; and potential concerns stemming from the highly politicized environment that birthed the Space Force. The chapter concludes by reminding readers that new organizations do not guarantee success and by urging application of the right lessons from past missteps.