There is a common theme running through this and other recent space policy studies. In the words of the commission report, "the security and economic well being of the United States and its allies and friends depends on the nation's ability to operate successfully in space." This is clearly a valid conclusion, but one that has seemingly not yet made much of an impression on the public's consciousness. The availability of the many services dependent on space systems appears to be taken for granted by the public. However, if space capabilities were denied to the U.S. military, it would be impossible to carry out a modern military operation, particularly one distant from the United States. The civilian sector is equally dependent on space. Communication satellites carry voice, video, and data to all corners of Earth and are integral to the functioning of the global economy. The commission noted that failure of a single satellite in May 1998 disabled 80 percent of the pagers in the United States, as well as video feeds for cable and broadcast transmission, credit card authorization networks, and corporate communication systems. If the U.S. GPS system were to experience a major failure, it would disrupt fire, ambulance, and police operations around the world; cripple the global financial and banking system; interrupt electric power distribution; and in the future could threaten air traffic control.

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Logsdon, John M. "Just Say Wait to Space Power." Issues in Science and Technology. Vol. 17, No. 3 (Spring 2001). [ 4 quotes ]