Seeking New World Vistas: The Militarization of Space. . - book review

Parameters, Winter, 2001 by Richard K. Colonel Jones

Seeking New World Vistas: The Militarization of Space. By Roger Handberg. Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 2000. 304 pages. $62.50. Reviewed by Colonel Richard K. Jones, USAF, Director, Aerospace Concepts and Doctrine, Department of Military Strategy, Planning, and Operations, US Army War College.

My first clue that Roger Handberg's new book, Seeking New World Vistas: The Militarization of Space, might be difficult to read was the fact that I looked up "vista" in the dictionary before I even opened up the book (according to Webster's, vista means "a distant view through or along an avenue or opening"). The second clue was the first sentence in his book, "Space is first of all a place or location but it also represents a unique state of mind."

I expected this book, based on its title, to be futuristic and to address the question, "What kind of military space capabilities might we need in the 21st century?" Vistas did not meet those expectations. The author states two primary purposes: "First, generally to describe how US policy regarding the military's presence in space has evolved over the years.... The second purpose... is to describe the current state of US policy regarding military space activities as we proceed through this proverbial transition period."

In essence, Vistas looks forward by focusing on the past. Handberg presents a historical view of space, from the Eisenhower years to the Clinton Administration. This historical presentation is the best feature of the book, and many of the addressed issues, such as weapons in space, are back on the table today. The author focuses primarily on political aspects of military space policy, including individuals and organizations. He devotes a significant portion of the book to the military use of space in Desert Storm and to ballistic missile defense.

Unfortunately, in many cases the author's views appear to be superficial and one-sided. As an example, Handberg asserts, "From an American military perspective...the space shuttle always had a limited role as evidenced by the National Reconnaissance Office's (NRO) continued resistance to the presidentially ordered phaseout of the expendable launch vehicle (ELV) fleet.... [T]he NRO pushed hard for a commercial ELV fleet as an alternative to the troubled shuttle." The author implies this resistance is due to the NRO (and the armed services) being leery of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and dates back to the creation of NASA in the 1960s: "Those early decisions are not always consciously remembered as the original participants have long ago left office, but their organizational choices have endured." Yet, there were many valid reasons for continued use of ELVs. What Handberg does not address are those other considerations, such as increased acquisition costs, extended acquisition timel ines, and lack of assuredness for launch availability by relying on the space shuttle. (To "fly" a satellite on the space shuttle, that satellite has to be "man-rated," meaning designed, tested, and certified to not jeopardize the safety of the astronauts.)

Additionally, Handberg consistently presents the armed services in a dim light, attributing their activities to parochialism. "Each service wishes to keep its hand in the game so that [its] interests do not get submerged or sacrificed for Air Force fantasies.... The other traditional services, the Army and the Navy, are less affected because their space role is largely that of informed, and, from the Air Force's perspective, bitchy consumers." While parochialism may have been a factor at times for the services' actions, especially during the earliest space days, it wasn't the only factor. The reality is that there are no obvious, simple solutions for the best way to organize, train, equip, and employ space forces.

So, what's the bottom line to Vistas? The author emphasizes the critical importance of policy decisions driving military space capabilities, but he is pessimistic that the US political leadership will address policy issues that are needed to develop military space capabilities for the 21st century.

Don't you hate it when you've worked hard on a project, and ten minutes after you've completed it, something happens that renders your project "overcome by events"? Well, that appears to have happened to Vistas. As Handberg's book was rolling off the printing presses, the Congress, as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2000, established The Commission to Assess United States National Security Space Management and Organization. This commission, referred to as the Space Commission, was chaired by Donald Rumsfeld, who withdrew from the commission when he was selected to be the current Secretary of Defense. The Space Commission released its final report 11 January 2001. This report is well written, comprehensive, and addresses the entire spectrum of space from a national security point of view.

Would I recommend reading Roger Handberg's Seeking New World Vistas: The Militarization of Space? No. Instead, I recommend reading the final report of the Space Commission. It seeks "new world vistas for the militarization of space." It exceeds all expectations. And, it's free.