In U.S. Presidents and the Militarization of Space, Sean Kalic emphasizes the distinction between militarization and weaponization. Militarization is the exploitation of satellite capabilities for military purposes: navigation, communications, and remote sensing. These activities strengthen defense, giving the U.S. military certain advantages in monitoring events within the atmosphere. Yet, these same capabilities, like the Athenian wall in the time of Thucydides, also enable offense. They dramatically improve the effectiveness of attacks by terrestrial weapons and lay the foundation for offensive breakout through aggressive space-based systems. This last approach draws the term “weaponization,” and Kalic credits the space program presidents—Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, and Lyndon B. Johnson—for assiduously rejecting orbiting missile bases, lasers, and space mines.
Kalic builds his case around government documents and archived collections of papers, including some recently declassified files, of individuals involved in the presidential decision process. U.S. Presidents and the Militarization of Space...