The Air University (AU) is part of the United States Air Force's Air Education and Training Command, headquartered at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama. For the past two years, a group of officers and students at AU has been participating in a program called Space Horizons. The group has been "exploring the implications for national security of the ongoing transportation and industrial revolution taking place in the commercial space industry." The group believes that a small effort taken now can lead to exponential positive effects in the future.
The SH group has decided to promote a bold new approach to the challenges of building a robust space industry in the U.S. where the U.S. space program can "help and promote rather than hinder or constrain" the evolution and expansion of private space efforts. In accordance with those goals, the SH group has put forward a draft of a National Space Policy (NSP) for the U.S.
The draft NSP opens with the declaration that "It is the policy of the United States that Space represents a domain of vast opportunity and commerce for all humankind." The draft continues with the assertion that space " holds the key to our species’ long-term survival and prosperity. Therefore, space is critical to our nation’s long-term survival and prosperity." The draft says that one specific goal should be the creation of permanent space colonies. It also says that the U.S. should lead the world in responding to threats from space such as asteroids and solar flares.
U.S. policy should be that space should be free to all nations for lawful commerce and national activities. The U.S. should make it clear that it will defend national interests against foreign interference in space and will protect the rights free access to space of other nationals as well.
The U.S. should protect the ability of all nations and companies to navigate safely in space which will include monitoring and deflecting space debris which threatens navigation and infrastructure in space and on Earth. The U.S. should also work to prevent the use of space as a platform for weapons of mass destruction.
The U.S. should engage in research to develop new propulsion technologies such as ion drives, fusion drives, solar sails and other advanced systems. Another goal of U.S. space policy should be to reach for the stars though probes launched to travel to other star systems.
The U.S. should pioneer and share new technologies for the exploitation of space resources by mining valuable minerals from asteroids, moons and planets. The limitless sunlight in space should be harnessed to beam energy back to Earth to solve the energy crisis and mitigate climate change.
Education should be a priority with new grants to provide resources to expand the workforce of professionals that can contribute to the exploitation of space. There should be support for establishing university departments and inter-university programs to support the space industry.
The U.S. should compete with other nations to attract top talent and provide resources and assistance for the growth of U.S. space industries. This will include helpful regulation, loan programs, tax breaks and other government actions to support domestic space companies.
As part of the National Space Policy, the U.S. should seek to achieve a number of "firsts" in space that will include:
1) The U.S. should be the first nation to mine an asteroid.
2) The U.S. should be the first nation to mine propellant and minerals from the Moon.
3) The U.S. should be the first nation to create commercial transportation to and from the lunar surface.
4) The U.S. should be the first nation to create a propellant depot and on-orbit refueling service.
5) The U.S. should be the first nation to operate a private space station.
6) The U.S. should be the first nation to develop an Earth-to-orbit fleet of fully-reusable launch vehicles.
7) The U.S. should be the first nation to develop a prototype solar power satellite.
8) The U.S. should be the first nation to establish a hazardous asteroid early warning system and demonstrate an asteroid deflection capability.
The U.S. must explore the creation of new institutions at home and abroad that can best support the expansion of the human race into space.
For the full draft from the Space Horizons group at Air University, see National Space Policy
