The Rumsfeld commission argues that the United States needs weapons for space warfare because it is now both more vulnerable in and more dependent on space. The first assertion may be debatable, but the second is incontrovertible. America today depends on its satellites as never before. The U.S. Space Command estimates that by 2010, some 2,000 operating satellites will orbit the earth, compared to roughly 600 today. Much of this growth will be tied to civilian and commercial applications, especially those in communications-related sectors. Since 1996, revenues from commercial space ventures have exceeded government space expenditures, and this differential continues to widen. The U.S. Space Command figures that by 2003, the Global Positioning System alone will have generated $ 16 billion per year in revenues. Space policy expert James Oberg estimates that last year, space-technology industries realized $ 125 billion in profits. By 2005, global telecommunications revenues could reach $ 1.2 trillion, and by 2010, the cumulative U.S. investment in space could well reach $ 500 billion to $ 600 billion -- equaling the value of all current U.S. investments in Europe.

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Krepon, Michael. "Lost in Space: the Misguided Drive Toward Antisatellite Weapons." Foreign Policy. Vol. 80, No. 3 (May/June 2001): 2-8. [ 1 reference ]