Not only have international issues effected U.S. space actions, but competing interests are holding space back. Space systems are expensive. The U.S. is currently developing a number of systems expected to reach $5-10 billion each not including the $11,000 per pound it will take to launch them. The economics here on earth have a large impact on operations in space. National economic and budget woes have conspired to slow the rigorous growth once projected in U.S. space, particularly on the commercial satellite side of the house. Defense budgets, on the rise since 1996, have begun to retract. The U.S. national budget has gone from a surplus of nearly 2% of GDP in 1996 to a projected deficit of 5% of GDP in 2005. The cost of current operations in Iraq, estimated at over $200 billion has dug into military modernization budgets. U.S. investment in space systems has decreased dramatically since its peak in 1988-89. Additionally, a compelling need to modernize major combat systems in all military services has pushed space to the fringes in the battle for precious procurement dollars. The Air Force shoulders 87 percent of the DoD’s space funding burden yet in the 2005 AF budget that equates to only 11 percent of Air Force military procurement dollars allocated to space systems.

---

Henderson, Scott A. The Third Battle: Is the U.S. Ready to Wage the Next Conflict in Space?. Maxwell AFB, AL: USAF Air University, March 2004. [ 7 quotes ] [ page 36 ]