Search results for ""Author Joan Johnson-Freese""

In the popular imagination, space is the final frontier. Will that frontier be a wild west, or will it instead be treated as the oceans are: as a global commons, where commerce is allowed to flourish and no one country dominates? At this moment, nations are free to send missions to Mars or launch space stations. Space satellites are vital to many of the activities that have become part of our daily lives—from weather forecasting to GPS and satellite radio. The militaries of the United States and a host of other nations have also made space a critical arena—spy and communication satellites are essential to their operations. Beginning with the Reagan administration and its attempt to create a missile defense system to protect against attack by the Soviet Union, the U.S. military has decided that the United States should be the dominant power in space in order to protect civilian and defense assets. In Heavenly Ambitions, Joan Johnson-Freese draws from a myriad of sources to argue that the United States is on the wrong path: first, by politicizing the question of space threats and, second, by continuing to believe that military domination in space is the only way to protect U.S. interests in space. Johnson-Freese, who has written and lectured extensively on space policy, lays out her vision of the future of space as a frontier where nations cooperate and military activity is circumscribed by arms control treaties that would allow no one nation to dominate—just as no one nation's military dominates the world's oceans. This is in the world's interest and, most important, in the U.S. national interest.

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Joan Johnson-Freese argues that the race for space weapons and the U.S. quest for exclusive or at least dominant ownership of strategic space assets have alienated the very allies that the United States needs in order to maintain its leading role in space exploration. Taking a balanced look at the issues that have contributed to the decline of America's manned space program, such as lack of political support and funding, Johnson-Freese offers not only a critique but also a plan for enhancing U.S. space security through cooperation rather than competition. She begins with a brief overview of the history of international space development through four eras: before Sputnik, the space race, after Apollo, and globalization. Then she focuses on how policy changes of the mid-1990s have changed the nation, examining why the United States has grown obsessed with the development of space technology not just as a tool for globalization but as a route toward expanding an already dominant arsenal of weapons. Johnson-Freese claims that these policy choices have greatly affected the attitudes and actions of other countries, and in the fight to achieve security, the United States has instead put itself at greater peril. Johnson-Freese explains complex technical issues in clear, accessible terms and suggests a way forward that is comprehensive rather than partisan. America is not the only country with space ambitions, but it is unique in viewing space as a battlefield and the technological advancements of other nations as a dire threat. Urgent and persuasive, Space as a Strategic Asset underscores the danger of allowing our space program to languish and the crucial role of cooperation in protecting the security of our country and the world.

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