03208cam a2200469 i 4500 rnd000000000043857 RAND 20200811100811.0 100416s2010 caua b 000 0 eng d 2010008354 0833049135 (pbk. : alk. paper) 0833050281 (electronic bk.) 9780833049131 (pbk. : alk. paper) 9780833050281 (electronic bk.) RAND/MG-916-AF (Sirsi) a594001 $23.00 paperback CstmoR CstmoR n-us--- UG1523 .M587 2010 Morgan, Forrest E. author. Deterrence and first-strike stability in space : a preliminary assessment / Forrest E. Morgan. Santa Monica, CA : RAND, 2010. xix, 59 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm text txt rdacontent computer c rdamedia unmediated n rdamedia online resource cr rdacarrier volume nc rdacarrier "RAND Project Air Force." Includes bibliographical references (p. 55-59). Introduction -- The Shifting Dynamics of Stability in Space -- Applying the Principles of Deterrence to the Space Environment -- The Need for a National Space Deterrence Strategy -- A Way Forward. Space stability is a fundamental U.S. national security interest. Unfortunately, that stability may be eroding. Potential enemies understand the high degree to which space systems enhance U.S. conventional warfighting capabilities, and a growing number of them are acquiring the ability to degrade or destroy those systems. However, the risk is not the same for all space systems in all types of crises or at all levels of war. Some systems are more vulnerable than others, and different types of attacks offer different cost-benefit payoffs to attackers. Therefore, each space system has a different threshold at which efforts to deter attacks on it could fail. The United States can raise the thresholds of deterrence failure in crises and at some levels of limited war by implementing a coordinated national space deterrence strategy designed to operate on both sides of a potential adversary's cost-benefit decision calculus simultaneously. This strategy should begin with a national space policy that declares that the United States will punish space aggressors in ways, times, and places of its choosing. The United States should also take steps to reduce the benefits an enemy might expect to gain in attacking U.S. space systems. Future research will determine the most effective and affordable mix of strategies, policies, and systems for strengthening space deterrence. Also available on the internet via WWW in PDF format. United States. Air Force Space Command. Deterrence (Strategy) Space warfare Government policy United States. Space weapons United States. Project Air Force (U.S.) Rand Corporation. United States. Air Force. Online Access http://www.rand.org/pubs/monographs/MG916/ 597619 597619