OCTOBER 2024 i CENTER FOR SPACE POLICY AND STRATEGY
Framing Space Agenda Through Strategic Foresight
Kara Cunzeman
The Changing Global and Space Environment
The United States stands in a different environment than it did when Space Agenda 2021 was published. While the
memory of the pandemic and resulting economic crisis grows faint, the scars linger. The proliferation of artificial
intelligence (AI) and social media, along with the ongoing energy transition, has pushed multinational technology
companies to the top of stock markets ahead of even the world’s largest oil company, and the world continues to grow
more interconnected even as some individuals feel even more isolated. Around the world, the nation’s adversaries
continue to create disruption. Ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza serve as a reminder of the volatile and uncertain
world we live in, especially as we look ahead to how potential future conflicts might unfold. Against the backdrop of
simultaneous worldwide conflicts and rapid innovation, and despite rising challenges for the Chinese economy, the post–
Cold War world order is being challenged. Access to geographic areas (to include space) of strategic importance, rare
earth minerals, and novel technologies continue to be arenas of global competition and are likely to define the upcoming
years.
However, the future holds bright spots amidst the uncertainty. As the United States rebuilds its industrial capacity for
semiconductors, advancing capability in AI promises new applications and efficiencies, cutting-edge approaches in
medicine herald new ways to serve patients, and the desire to scale renewable energies grows, there is immense
opportunity on the horizon for the American people.
Shaped by this ever-changing global landscape, space continues to be an embedded part of American lives and a strategic
arena of great national importance. The role that space plays across diplomatic, intelligence, military, and economic
elements of national power is growing, which makes defense by, to, and through space increasingly important to
advancing U.S. interests worldwide. America’s adversaries are growing their space capabilities, including with novel
threats, and they are demonstrating emboldened actions that require vigilant action by our national security apparatus.
To adapt to this changed world within fiscal constraints, the Space Force, along with broader Department of Defense and
intelligence space organizations, will rely increasingly on commercial partnerships and capabilities. Currently, shifts are
underway toward more distributed architectures that can be more resilient to offensive attacks. The Space Force is also
working to update the aging infrastructure of the United States’ spaceports, which, if left unfixed, may hinder potential
growth of the space economy.
