Beyond the Paths of Heaven

Major issues have plagued the US military space community for years. Foremost among these issues is the relationship between air and space. This work is a comprehensive examination of space power. Military space-lift vehicle requirements, space architectures, and ground support infrastructure are major issues. Graduate students at the School of Advanced Airpower Studies researched and discussed a variety of these issues and their efforts are brought together here as a collection of master's degree research theses. The significance of this book lies in the synergism of the contributions. Although each of the articles reflects varying, well-documented, independent perspectives with both strengths and weaknesses, in total, the articles give a mature summary of the best available military thought regarding space power. The first three papers examine space organization, doctrine, and architecture. The rest are loosely grouped as predominantly sanctuary/survivability, space control, or high-ground perspectives.