In the simplest terms, America needs Space for its National Security and the survival of our way of life. We need space just as we need land, air, and sea forces. Removing one of those components of our National Security would render us incapable of defending the Nation. Removing space from the equation not only cripples our land, air and sea forces but it would have catastrophic consequences to our entire economy. In 1998, we saw firsthand what the loss of a satellite could do to our economy and way of life. Galaxy IV lost its Earth orientation, wiping out pager traffic for 40 million pagers in the US, halting credit card transactions and ATM machines, and knocking TV and radio stations off the air. Space is beyond a joint warfighting catalyst; it is a universal necessity and must be protected as such. It is important though, to recognize there are many different perspectives on the relevance of space.

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Lord, Lance W. "Why America Needs Space: The Prerequisites for Success." High Frontier Journal. Vol. 2, No. 1 (September 2005): 2-3. [ 2 quotes ] [ page 2 ]