Spacepower, analogous to airpower and sea power, is the ability to use the space medium to project military power. Since the end of the Cold War, the contributions of spacepower to national security and military operations have become increasingly visible in the open press, leading to an increased stated need for a comprehensive spacepower theory. This research is focused toward that need. It explores the central themes and specific points of the "theoretical masters" of land, sea and air, in order to draw analogies to the emerging presence of military spacepower. Space will continue to aid combat in other mediums as it offers persistence, range, and near instantaneous speed-enabling a global presence that is unmatched by capabilities in any other medium. However, for spacepower to emerge as a fully competent component of the future joint force, or simply to mature as a combat arm within the US Air Force, a body of serious thought must be given to why we need spacepower and what we intend it to do. Through this analysis, five lessons emerge for spacepower theory: 1) Spacepower must control space lines of communication; 2) Decisive points are key to space control; 3) Spacepower requires superior observation capabilities and the ability to take offensive action; 4) Robust spacepower could lead to enemy paralysis; and 5) Spacepower requires masters of the space medium.

Spacepower, analogous to airpower and sea power, is the ability to use the space medium to project military power. Since the end of the Cold War, the contributions of spacepower to national security and military operations have become increasingly visible in the open press, leading to an increased stated need for a comprehensive spacepower theory. This research is focused toward that need. It explores the central themes and specific points of the "theoretical masters" of land, sea and air, in order to draw analogies to the emerging presence of military spacepower. Space will continue to aid combat in other mediums as it offers persistence, range, and near instantaneous speed--enabling a global presence that is unmatched by capabilities in any other medium. However, for spacepower to emerge as a fully competent component of the future joint force, or simply to mature as a combat arm within the US Air Force, a body of serious thought must be given to why we need spacepower and what we intend it to do. Through this analysis, five lessons emerge for spacepower theory: 1) Spacepower must control space lines of communication; 2) Decisive points are key to space control; 3) Spacepower requires superior observation capabilities and the ability to take offensive action; 4) Robust spacepower could lead to enemy paralysis; and 5) Spacepower requires masters of the space medium.

A new approach to spacepower acquisition is essential to ensure America's continuing advantage in space. The United States must create better options to guarantee that its political leaders and military commanders can continue to depend on military spacepower, and that it remains a continuing competitive advantage for America. At the center of a new space acquisition strategy, advocated in this thesis, is the creation of a spacepower system development and demonstration phase similar to other DOD acquisition cycles. Military spacepower continues to enhance the elements and instruments of US national power and increases the effectiveness of military forces. The useful operational lives of the spacecraft that currently provide these benefits, however, are rapidly running out. Each DOD spacecraft constellation is currently in transition, and the Air Force is attempting to recapitalize every space mission area near simultaneously. These recapitalization efforts have been fraught with technical problems, delays, and significant cost overruns.