The US is expected to release a new military space directive to replace the existing policy that was formulated in 1996, although the release has been delayed several times for revisions. Media reports have indicated that the new space directive would provide freer access in space for the USAF and would call for the deployment of capabilities to ensure that space systems or services cannot be used for purposes hostile to US national interests. The new policy directive is widely speculated to build on certain recommendations of the 2001 Rumsfeld Commission report that "explicit national security guidance and defense policy is needed to direct development of doctrine, concepts of operations and capabilities for space, including weapons systems that operate in space." The US reiterated the importance of military uses of space-based assets, conducting its third space war games in February 2005 to test the use of space-based assets in future operations related to the war on terrorism. The "Schriever III" games focused on how the US could maintain space superiority by integrating manned and unmanned space systems to assist terrestrial operations in the event of war. Officials from Canada, Australia, and the UK also participated.

---

Collard-Wexler, Simon, Thomas Graham et al. Space Security 2006. Waterloo, Ontario: Space Security Index, July 2006. [ 26 quotes ] [ page 61 ]