The Great Space Force Debate: a Way Forward from the Past?
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Calhoun: The NPS Institutional Archive DSpace Repository Theses and Dissertations 1. Thesis and Dissertation Collection, all items 2019-12 THE GREAT SPACE FORCE DEBATE: A WAY FORWARD FROM THE PAST? Johnson, Jordan M. Monterey, CA; Naval Postgraduate School http://hdl.handle.net/10945/63989 Downloaded from NPS Archive: Calhoun Calhoun: The NPS Institutional Archive DSpace Repository Theses and Dissertations 1. Thesis and Dissertation Collection, all items 2019-12 PRESERVATION OF THE FORCE AND FAMILY AS A TOOL FOR TALENT MANAGEMENT Johnson, Nolan; Baker, Jonathan C. Monterey, CA; Naval Postgraduate School http://hdl.handle.net/10945/63990 Downloaded from NPS Archive: Calhoun NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA THESIS THE GREAT SPACE FORCE DEBATE: A WAY FORWARD FROM THE PAST? by Jordan M. Johnson December 2019 Thesis Advisor: James C. Moltz Second Reader: Stephen H. Tackett Approved for public release. Distribution is unlimited. THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK Form Approved OMB REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE No. 0704-0188 Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instruction, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to Washington headquarters Services, Directorate for Information Operations and Reports, 1215 Jefferson Davis Highway, Suite 1204, Arlington, VA 22202-4302, and to the Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reduction Project (0704-0188) Washington, DC 20503. 1. AGENCY USE ONLY 2. REPORT DATE 3. REPORT TYPE AND DATES COVERED (Leave blank) December 2019 Master’s thesis 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE 5. FUNDING NUMBERS THE GREAT SPACE FORCE DEBATE: A WAY FORWARD FROM THE PAST? 6. AUTHOR(S) Jordan M. Johnson 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 8. PERFORMING Naval Postgraduate School ORGANIZATION REPORT Monterey, CA 93943-5000 NUMBER 9. SPONSORING / MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND 10. SPONSORING / ADDRESS(ES) MONITORING AGENCY N/A REPORT NUMBER 11. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES The views expressed in this thesis are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of Defense or the U.S. Government. 12a. DISTRIBUTION / AVAILABILITY STATEMENT 12b. DISTRIBUTION CODE Approved for public release. Distribution is unlimited. A 13. ABSTRACT (maximum 200 words) The concept of a “Space Force” has been debated in rooms at the Pentagon, on social media, and even as a potential series on Netflix, yet space operations have been an integral part of the U.S. armed forces for about 40 years. U.S. interest in space began as an urgent move to prove our nation’s competitiveness during the Cold War. Today, the initiative to have a Space Force is rooted in the nationalism of President Donald Trump. The Space Policy Directive-4 signed by Trump is waiting for congressional approval, so a historical review of the role of space within the U.S. military is needed. This thesis analyzes the roles the Army, Air Force, and Navy have already played within the combined space effort. Through this historical analysis, this study offers a comparative examination of the space interests of each of the three branches of service, showing how each defines and views space, and addresses space organization within the services. The study concludes that the Air Force Space Command should remain under the U.S. Air Force and be renamed the Space Corps with both United States Space Command and the Space Corps being the central chain of command for all the services. 14. SUBJECT TERMS 15. NUMBER OF Air Force, Army, bureaucratic, Command and Control, Navy, policy, space, Space Force, PAGES Space Corps, space directive, United States, U.S. Space Command 107 16. PRICE CODE 17. SECURITY 18. SECURITY 19. SECURITY 20. LIMITATION OF CLASSIFICATION OF CLASSIFICATION OF THIS CLASSIFICATION OF ABSTRACT REPORT PAGE ABSTRACT Unclassified Unclassified Unclassified UU NSN 7540-01-280-5500 Standard Form 298 (Rev. 2-89) Prescribed by ANSI Std. 239-18 i THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK ii Approved for public release. Distribution is unlimited. THE GREAT SPACE FORCE DEBATE: A WAY FORWARD FROM THE PAST? Jordan M. Johnson Lieutenant, United States Navy BA, Spelman College, 2013 Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE IN SPACE SYSTEMS OPERATIONS from the NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL December 2019 Approved by: James C. Moltz Advisor Stephen H. Tackett Second Reader James H. Newman Chair, Department of Space Systems Academic Group iii THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK iv ABSTRACT The concept of a “Space Force” has been debated in rooms at the Pentagon, on social media, and even as a potential series on Netflix, yet space operations have been an integral part of the U.S. armed forces for about 40 years. U.S. interest in space began as an urgent move to prove our nation’s competitiveness during the Cold War. Today, the initiative to have a Space Force is rooted in the nationalism of President Donald Trump. The Space Policy Directive-4 signed by Trump is waiting for congressional approval, so a historical review of the role of space within the U.S. military is needed. This thesis analyzes the roles the Army, Air Force, and Navy have already played within the combined space effort. Through this historical analysis, this study offers a comparative examination of the space interests of each of the three branches of service, showing how each defines and views space, and addresses space organization within the services. The study concludes that the Air Force Space Command should remain under the U.S. Air Force and be renamed the Space Corps with both United States Space Command and the Space Corps being the central chain of command for all the services. v THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK vi TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION..................................................................................................1 A. MAJOR RESEARCH QUESTION..........................................................1 B. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE RESEARCH QUESTION ...........................2 C. POTENTIAL EXPLANATIONS AND HYPOTHESES .......................7 D. RESEARCH DESIGN ...............................................................................8 E. THESIS OVERVIEW ...............................................................................8 SPACE HISTORY AND ADVANCEMENTS WITHIN THE U.S. ARMY ...................................................................................................................11 A. INTRODUCTION....................................................................................11 B. THE ARMY’S CLAIM TO SPACE ......................................................11 1. The Army’s Space Ambitions dissolve into NASA ...................16 C. THE VIETNAM WAR: ARMY’S PAUSE ON SPACE DEVELOPMENTS ..................................................................................17 D. THE ARMY SPACE REBIRTH AND ADVANCEMENTS ...............18 1. Formation of Space Cadre and Current Space Research and Assets .....................................................................................20 E. CONCLUSION ........................................................................................24 A HISTORY OF THE NAVY’S ROLE IN SPACE AND CURRENT ACTIVITIES ........................................................................................................27 A. INTRODUCTION....................................................................................27 B. THE NAVY’S INITIAL SPACE INVOLVEMENT (1940s- 1970s) .........................................................................................................27 1. Launching of Vanguard and NRL Importance ........................28 2. The 1961 Department of Defense Directive 5160. 34 ................30 C. THE NAVY’S SPACE ADVANCEMENT (1980s–PRESENT) ..........32 1. Space Reorganization within the Navy ......................................32 2. Space Refocus within the Navy Post-Cold War ........................33 D. CONCLUSION ........................................................................................37 U.S. AIR FORCE ROLE IN SPACE ACTIVITY ............................................39 A. INTRODUCTION....................................................................................39 B. EMERGENCE FROM U.S. ARMY AIR FORCES TO U.S. AIR FORCE: 1945–1961 .................................................................................39 1. U.S. Air Force Struggle for Space ..............................................41 2. The Merging of Satellite and Missile Development ..................42 3. The CORONA Program and NRO Establishment ...................44 vii C. USAF EXECUTIVE CONTROL AND REORGANIZATION INTO A UNIFIED COMMAND FOR SPACE: 1961–1985 ................45 1. USAF Operational Organization Efforts for Space ..................48 2. The Creation of the Air Force Space Command .......................49 3. AFSPC Grooming for Primary Agent in Military Space Missions: 1986–2002 ....................................................................52 D. USAF EXPANSION AND CURRENT MISSIONS: 2005- PRESENT .................................................................................................53 1. Mission Area Cyberspace ............................................................53