The Dragon and the Space Force

What does human spaceflight have to do with newest military service?

If the weather cooperates this weekend, NASA and SpaceX will attempt to launch Crew Dragon Demo 2 on a Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station. Separately, the United States Space Force has been running its first recruiting advertisements.

Unfortunately, far too many on social media (yeah, I know) conflate human spaceflight with the creation and development of the Space Force, either explicitly or implicitly. A national news story about a new Space Force recruiting ad furthered the conflation by depicting astronauts who look more like geologist explorers on another planet than military personnel. The clip probably looked sufficiently “spacey” to a harried editor.

Most of the general public may not know the difference between civil, military, and commercial space activities. Or for that matter, what military space, or national security space, really means, beyond cursory anecdotes about “spy satellites” or fun but often unrealistic Hollywood depictions.

The lines can be blurry, and an integrated, whole of nation approach to space is needed. But taxpayers and people in business alike should understand the difference, and avoid conflating space exploration, national security space, and commercial space development.

The nation has assigned NASA the responsibility for the lion’s share of civil space, comprising space exploration and science, presumably for the benefit of all.

The new Space Force organizes, trains, and equips space forces to protect U.S. and allied interests in space and to provide space capabilities to the joint force. Responsibilities include the development of military space professionals, acquisition of military space systems, maturation of the military doctrine for space power, and organization of space forces to present to Combatant Commands.

Commercial space encompasses the business of space, whether it be communications, remote sensing, in-space manufacturing, mining, space tourism, or other endeavors not yet imagined. Markets, industry, investors, profit, the global space economy, and a potential robust cislunar economy are necessary considerations.

The Space Force may have inadvertently added to the confusion with its two recent well-intended, thirty-second video recruiting advertisements. The first includes this clever statement: “Maybe your purpose on this planet isn’t on this planet.” Some viewers may infer that Space Force personnel serve while physically present in space, which, for the time being anyway, will not be the case. Nor does the ad explicitly say that. On May 28th, the service released a second ad, entitled Make History, whose inspirational images and narrative seem to invoke themes of space exploration rather than military service.

Since 1958, many of NASA’s astronauts have been military officers on loan to NASA, including Colonels Douglas Hurley and Robert Behnken, the crew of Demo 2. Like other NASA astronauts, they are not acting in a military capacity and are not members of the Space Force. In the 1960s, the United States considered military astronauts working in a military role during the Manned Orbital Laboratory or MOL program. The MOL would have sent military astronauts into space to operate reconnaissance systems spying on Earth-bound adversaries. But for technical and cost reasons, MOL was canceled, and human spaceflight (then almost universally called “manned” spaceflight) eschewed for military purposes in favor of robotic satellites.

Yet, inspiration is a good thing, even aspirational, as opposed to evolutionary, inspiration. As the first Space Force recruiting ad states, we need to “Plan for what’s possible while it’s still impossible.”

To most people, resource mining on the moon or from asteroid or space solar power stations is science fiction, if they can imagine them at all. Routine space tourism may seem a bit closer to reality but is still not yet a reality. But there is progress.

NASA’s Artemis program seeks to return humans to the moon by 2024 with a public-private and international approach, followed by subsequent missions to establish a sustainable human presence on the moon. Industry and academia are replete with concepts for supporting this civil endeavor with commercial activity. China has similar plans.

NASA recently released the Artemis Accords, intended as a foundation for dialog between international partners on how to behave in space while pursuing such goals, including “safety zones” surrounding space activities.

But what if not all actors agree to these principles? What if someone encroaches on a “safety zone?” Who will enforce the agreed-upon policies if a nation or a non-governmental organization misbehaves?

Addressing those questions is not what NASA’s human spaceflight program is about, including Crew Dragon, its Boeing Starliner competitor, or the NASA-Lockheed Orion. At least not directly or immediately.

The utilization of the moon’s resources, the advent of space commerce, and the growth of a robust cislunar economy are likely to occur in the next few decades. Putting Americans into space routinely, safely, and cost-effectively from U.S. soil is a fundamental capability if our nation is to participate in this historic opportunity. It is part of the necessary infrastructure to enable fully sustainable operations in Low Earth Orbit, on the moon, and beyond to secure the scientific, commercial, and national security benefits of space.

Will the realization of this dream include Space Force personnel in space? History strongly suggests the day will come when more than satellites and robots will be required in space. On that day, will we be ready? Can we be confident we will be the first to put military people performing military tasks in space?

As the Space Force recruiting ad says, “We have to imagine what would be imagined.”

For now, as we keep alive the dream of exploring and developing space, and utilizing its resources, let’s avoid unnecessarily confusing NASA human spaceflight with the Space Force and national security space, and ensure the public understands the difference.

By the way, while doing so, enjoy the new comedy series Netflix released today (May 29th), entitled…wait for it…Space Force.