National Department of Space

Man has always been fascinated by the heavens. Not until late in the 19th and early 20th Centuries did man finally have the technology to reach the moon. Currently, the heavens abound with satellites as well as a manned space station. Throughout the past century, the formation of numerous organizations provided for the nation's space needs. Today, however, these same organizations lie at the very center of what hinders the development, operation and exploitation of space. If the nation is serious about space, it should consider making a "drastic" change or transformation of the current space program. The current status quo program with multiple organizations with multiple missions without a single focus and a single "belly button" is hindering and strangling America's space direction, domination and development. To that end, the most straightforward and effective solution is to fuse the service- and agency-fragmented pieces into an independent organization. This monograph recommends the development of a single organization to provide singular support to meet the nation's requirements and demands for the 21st Century. The space community as it exists compiled with a number of factors creates a liability for the nation. This monograph examines two key documents, which have shaped the Space Community over the last decade and will continue to shape the next. Throughout the research, a myriad of factors emerged that effect the nation's forays into space. The factors presented in this monograph include organization, policy, rivalries, Defense Community, budget, capabilities, human capital, culture, organizational structure, the medium, and weaponization. Each factor presented in and of itself creates problems, but compounded the factors create an even greater and more complex problem. The Space Community is not failing, but nation's policy and the intertwined, yet independent factors represent additional hindrances and evidence of organizational mismanagement and inappro