The Us Response to China's Asat Test

Nearly three years have passed since China's successful antisatellite (ASAT) test ushered in a new era of space competition. China still offers no answers to one of the most troubling strategic space questions of the twenty-first century: why is China building space weapons? Fundamental changes in the way the United States approaches national security space are long overdue. Poorly implemented policies and futile strategies have hitherto failed to ignite any sense of urgency or rationality in Washington. China's test must serve to demark the end of failed American assumptions vis-à-vis its future competitive edge in space. Colonel Mastalir suggests that the best response for the United States is to prepare for a very different future in space, not with weapons in kind, but with enduring solutions to preserve the utility of space exploitation for all nations. He recommends that the United States take action to properly align the US instruments of national power to produce an enduring, coherent, multilateral approach toward space power.