Many who look to the potential of battle in and among the stars often forget a key component of all modern-day space systems—that is, every space system, eventually, somehow, connects to the ground. The existence of the eventual terrestrial link is how a space system’s utility is derived, and presents a choke point which the us can exploit, degrade, disrupt, deny, or destroy. As discussed earlier, mission control centers, ground antennas and support networks, end-user terminals/equipment suites, etc., All represent lucrative, vulnerable targets which can deny an adversary’s access to space. Therefore, the us has sufficiency with current, conventional weapons to prosecute offensive counterspace operations to deny an adversary’s use of space if it deems it necessary, and has less need to pursue potentially destabilizing means of doing so. Similarly, it has sufficiency with these same conventional forces to conduct active defensive counterspace missions for suppression of adversary counterspace capability to protect US systems.

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Coffelt, Christopher A. The Best Defense: Charting the Future of US Space Strategy and Policy. Maxwell AFB, AL: USAF Air University, June 2005. [ 11 quotes ] [ page 90 ]