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Implications of Ultra-Low-Cost Access to Space

March 21, 2017

ISBN# 978-1-4422-8003-8 (pb); 978-1-4422-8004-5 (eBook)
CSIS/Rowman & Littlefield
Since the advent of the space age, a primary constraint on military, commercial, and civil space missions has been the cost of launch. Launching objects into space requires substantial investments in launch systems and infrastructure, which has restricted the market to only a handful of national governments and several large private companies. This study explores the possibility of a space industry significantly less constrained by the cost of access to space.

To understand a future where the cost of access to space is only a fraction of what it is today, CSIS turned to a curated group of space experts, including launch providers, satellite manufacturers, government analysts, space law practitioners, and military strategists. This report details trends in low-cost access to space, identifies key opportunities for further cost reductions and policies needed to spur innovation, and explores new military missions that would be enabled if these trends lead to significant reductions in the cost of access to space.
 
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Written By
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Todd Harrison
Senior Associate (Non-resident), Aerospace Security Project and Defense Budget Analysis
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Kaitlyn Johnson
Deputy Director and Fellow, Aerospace Security Project
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Thomas G. Roberts
Adjunct Fellow (Non-resident), Aerospace Security Project
Andrew Philip Hunter
Media Queries
Contact H. Andrew Schwartz
Chief Communications Officer
Tel: 202.775.3242

Contact Paige Montfort
Media Relations Coordinator, External Relations
Tel: 202.775.3173
Related
Aerospace Security Project, Defense Industry, Acquisition, and Innovation, Defense and Security, Defense-Industrial Initiatives Group, Geopolitics and International Security, International Security Program, Space

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