British strategy and outer space: A missing link?

Abstract

The British Journal of Politics and International RelationsHowever, the study of spacepower -the use of outer space's military and economic advantages for strategic ends -remains a small subfield within strategic studies (Gray 1996;Dolman 2002;Klein 2006; Sheehan 2007; Lutes et al 2011, Harding 2013. Rarer still is that of the strategic aspects of British space activities (Sheldon 2010;Hill 2011;Quintana 2017). This article begins to address this gap by arguing that the discussion and study of British security strategy is missing the enabling link of spacepower. British freedom of action on Earth, and its critical infrastructure, is influenced by its dependencies on others in space. This article also presents a brief contextual analysis of the major space powers as assessing British spacepower is a relative and contextual task. Spacepower is one of the essential 'elements, both military and non-military, for the preservation and enhancement of the This article proceeds by first categorising Britain as a secondary space power in the international context and identifying strengths and dependencies in British space capabilities. A 'space power' is an entity that uses outer space for its political objectives; whilst 'spacepower' is 'the ability in peace, crisis, and war to exert prompt and sustained influence in or from space' (Sheldon 2010: 28). Spacepower is more than missile defence systems or the exploitation of the informationbased 'Revolution in Military Affairs ' (Gray and Sheldon 1999: 24). Spacepower also assists in the development of a state's security, economy, and infrastructure in a subtler yet more pervasive grand strategic sense. Space technology is used for precision agriculture as well as precision bombing.Satellites in orbit ensure a web of connectivity around the Earth and gather all manner of information about human and natural behaviour and systems on Earth. Second, it examines the increasing institutional recognition of space in Whitehall set against the context of austerity-led strategy-making

New Space and Innovation Policy: Scotland's Emerging “Space Glen”

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The Cyber-ASAT: On the Impact of Cyber Weapons in Outer Space

“…Modern space power has created a world in which "no enemy can withstand a frontal assault upon U.S. forces due to the American ability to sense, move, and strike with precision" [6, p. 236]. As the world becomes increasingly multipolar, many other states are expected to seek the same prestige and military power associated with membership in the "space club" [7], [8]. Over the past half-century, space has become the "ultimate high ground" for information age warfighting [9], [10, p. 714].…”