PRESIDENTIAL TRANSITION: PRIORITY TOPIC MEMO
OCTOBER 2024
MAKING SPACE VIBRANT AND RESILIENT
THE CRITICAL LINK BETWEEN ECONOMIC
AND NATIONAL SECURITY
Catalyzing vibrant and resilient space capabilities will drive
significant economic growth, enhance national security, and
ensure America’s leadership in the global space economy.
The Case for Action
The U.S. commercial space industry is a cornerstone for economic growth,
technological innovation, and national security. Currently, the U.S. space economy
generates over $211 billion in gross output and employs 360,000 Americans.
Deliberate investment in commercial space activities has driven down launch costs,
making space accessible to a diverse range of users and sparking innovation.
U.S. satellite manufacturing leads the global market and is projected to grow at a
Compound Annual Growth Rate of over 13% through 2030. However, this success
also brings new actors, technologies, competition, and risks, making the space
environment increasingly complex.
The United States’ reliance on space-based systems is a double-edged sword.
While these systems fuel our economy, security, and lifestyle, they also create
vulnerabilities to malicious attacks, natural phenomena, and routine failures.
Adversaries like Russia and China have developed advanced counter-space
weapons, viewing U.S. assets as vulnerable targets. A resilient approach, leveraging
both public and commercial resources, is essential to mitigate these threats and
ensure diverse, redundant, and resilient space capabilities. The line between
government and commercial capabilities has blurred, with each increasingly
dependent on the other.
To maintain leadership in the global space economy and safeguard national
security, the incoming administration must focus on enhancing and securing
vibrant, resilient space capabilities. This requires public-private cooperation and
international collaboration. The actions proposed in this paper provide a strategic
roadmap for the administration’s first 100 days, emphasizing the intertwined nature
of economic and national security.
Key Challenges and Opportunities
Commercial industry has developed and fielded advanced space capabilities,
presenting the United States with significant challenges and opportunities. One major
challenge is the increasing complexity of the space environment, with new actors,
technologies, and competition introducing risks that must be managed. Political and
legislative barriers, such as regulatory hurdles and international competition, could
U.S. reliance on
space-based systems
is a double-edged
sword: It fuels our
economy and security,
but also creates critical
vulnerabilities.
MITRE’s mission-driven teams are
dedicated to solving problems for a
safer world. Through our public-private
partnerships and federally funded R&D
centers, we work across government and
in partnership with industry to tackle
challenges to the safety, stability, and
well-being of our nation.
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