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Book Cover
Book
Author Stares, Paul B.

Title The militarization of space : U.S. policy, 1945-1984 / Paul B. Stares
Published Ithaca, N.Y. : Cornell University Press, 1985

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Location Call no. Vol. Availability
 W'PONDS  358.4030973 Sta/Mos  AVAILABLE
Description 334 pages ; 25 cm
Series Cornell studies in security affairs
Cornell studies in security affairs.
Contents Includes index
Summary From the front jacket flap: Contrary to widespread expectations in the wake of Sputnik, outer space did not immediately become a new arena for a superpower arms competition. Although the United States and the Soviet Union began to use space extensively for military purposes, both exhibited relatively little interest in the development of space weaponry. By the beginning of the 1980s, however, an arms race in space seemed inevitable. Now both the United States and the Soviet Union have developed the means to disable satellites and are now also considering the deployment of ballistic missile defenses in space. Why were these weapons never extensively developed earlier? What changed in the late 1970s to reverse the predominant trend in the militarization of space? What are the lessons for arms control and for Soviet-American relations in general? Paul Stares addresses these fundamental questions by examining the factors that have shaped United States policy towards the military use of space and in particular the development of antisatellite weapons. States relies heavily on declassified documents found in Presidential libraries and made available under the Freedom of Information Act, and he obtained additional information from a comprehensive series of interview with former members of the U.S. government and armed services. By judicious use of this material, he provides the first detailed account of United States space weapons policy and programs. An invaluable source of information for defense analysts and scholars of international relations, The Militarization of Space is essential reading for anyone wishing to understand present United States military space policy and its implications for the future
Notes Includes index
Bibliography Bibliography: pages 272-281
Includes index
Subject Artificial satellites -- Government policy -- United States -- History.
Astronautics, Military -- United States -- History.
Military reconnaissance -- Government policy -- United States -- History.
SUBJECT United States -- Military policy. http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85140379
LC no. 8504007501
ISBN 0801418100
Other Titles Space weapons and U.S. strategy : origins and development