A new era? Military space policy enters the mainstream

A military dimension to the use of space has existed since the earliest day s of space activity. Historically, military space policy has been somewhat peripheral, but the ever increasing use of space in support of military obj ectives has now driven it into the mainstream of military planning. This ha s resulted in new consideration being given, particularly in the USA, to th e organisation of space for national security and also raised the question as to whether national security interests demand space superiority and domi nance. (C) 2000 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.