Opinion
Opinion section includes op-eds, columns, commentaries and editorials on all things related to the global space business enterprise.
Op-Ed | Striving for security in space
Legislation reforming the national security space enterprise received broad bipartisan support in the House last year, so it will be interesting to see how Democrats treat the issue. Is their support for these reforms predicated on whether or not they’re endorsed by President Trump?
Op-Ed | Space: the new economic frontier
When the world watched Neil Armstrong take that one small step onto the lunar surface almost 50 years ago, no one could have dreamed how space would one day become an integral part of daily life on earth.
Why the “Amazonification” of satellite data communications is a good thing
As a founder and chief strategy officer of ATLAS Space Operations, a satellite data communications company that has been doing this very same thing for the past four years, you might think I’d be a little nervous to see Amazon enter the industry. But I’m not.
Op-ed | IoT smallsats: Ready for launch?
In recent years, there has been a boom of announcements for satellite constellations comprising satellites weighing as little as 3 kilograms to address a growing market of machine-to-machine (M2M) and Internet of Things (IoT) via satellite.
Op-ed | Expanding space security options through gender perspectives
A Space Force without the complementary effort of diplomacy and confidence building would be a recipe for incalculable escalation of unnecessary tension between states.
Op-ed | Real talk and real solutions to real space threats
While there are indeed real threats the United States faces in space, the political and public discourse about both the threats and solutions leaves much to be desired.
![For the Chinese military, space is not about space at all. It is about information — how to ensure the [People’s Liberation Army] gets it, as well as how to ensure that an adversary does not. Credit: Kremlin.Ru photo](https://spacenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Soldiers-of-the-Peoples-Liberation-Army-of-China-at-the-military-parade-to-mark-the-70th-anniversary-of-Victory-in-the-1941–1945-Great-Patriotic-War.-380x234.jpg)
Op-ed | Space Force: premature or overdue?
What both the Russian and Chinese space forces reflect is a shifting view of the nature of future conflict, and the place space has within that view.
On National Security | Signs of change in military space
The fate of the Trump administration’s Space Force plan is very much up in the air. One takeaway from the results of the midterm elections is that this is likely to be a protracted and contentious fight.
Foust Forward | Moving the needle, ever so slightly, towards space settlement
For decades, space advocates have promoted a vision of space settlement: people living permanently in space, be it on the moon or Mars, or in self-contained space colonies proposed in the 1970s by Gerard K. O’Neill.
Op-ed | The revolution that is commercial space is just beginning
While everybody is rightly celebrating recent successes in commercial space, some long-term trends are just beginning. It is still early days, and significant growth and new opportunities are just around the corner.
How to inspire the next generation to push the boundaries of space?
Bank of America Merrill Lynch forecasts that the commercial space industry will reach a total market size of $2.7 trillion by 2035. While women and minorities were left behind in the technology boom in Silicon Valley, we can’t let the same thing happen with space.
Foust Forward | The challenges to Chinese space cooperation
Before we celebrate a new era in U.S.-China space cooperation, though, there are obstacles to overcome on both sides of the Pacific.
Op-ed | Reuse and sustainability in deep space exploration
Recent SpaceX and Blue Origin booster landings have reignited hopes that reusability can change the economics of space activity simply by switching from expendable to reusable launch vehicles.
Op-ed | NASA at 60: The best of our energies and skills
To make the next 50 years of human spaceflight different from the last, government spending should change its focus from federal job creation to that of creating private infrastructure that, while serving government purposes, is also available to other private industries.
On National Security | Space Force invades the midterms
The Space Force that U.S. President Donald Trump ordered the Pentagon to set up could be a dim prospect if Republicans lose control of either the House or Senate when voters go to the polls Nov. 6 for the midterm elections.
Op-ed | The legal mandate for a U.S. Space Force
U.S. Army Brig. Gen. William “Billy” Mitchell is now considered the father of the U.S. Air Force, but the Air Force has forgotten the lessons of Mitchell’s experience when it comes to the new combat domain of space.
