Space Policy for the Twenty-First Century

National Security Space Institute 2025 Space Professional Reading List

A foundational, accessible overview of space policy in the United States

This book provides readers with the first comprehensive overview of major space policies in the United States and a framework through which to analyze them. It examines all facets of space policy—civilian, military, and commercial—and presents this material accessibly for use by readers at multiple levels, from undergraduate courses to government practitioners making and implementing policy.

The first section offers a history of space exploration, focusing on the US within a global context. The second section looks at the actors and institutions involved in setting space policy in a government based on the separation of powers, including the president, Congress, NASA, and the Department of Defense. The book concludes with chapters on the different sectors of space policy, as well as questions this field will face in the future.

As policymakers and business leaders become increasingly aware of the everyday systems that depend on space technologies, such as communications, mapping, and weather monitoring, and as space becomes a more visible arena for commercial competition, potential humanitarian gain, and military threats, Space Policy for the Twenty-First Century helps students and professionals navigate the complexity of space as a policy area.