Crowded Orbits ─ Conflict and Cooperation in Space

Written for all readers, this expert analysis details the basics of space technology, diplomacy, commerce, exploration, and military applications from the mid-twentieth century to today. Space has become increasingly crowded since the end of the Cold War, and this book pays particular attention to the politics and economics of space and recent debates over national security, focusing on the competing themes of international competition and cooperation and the effort to avoid dangerous conflicts.

Unfortunately, the growth of human space activity and challenges to existing international tools of management, such as rules, laws, and treaties, have increased the likelihood of conflict over a diminishing pool of space resources close to Earth. Drawing on more than twenty years of experience in international space debates and policy, James Clay Moltz points to the logic of cooperation and collaboration among the expanding number of space actors, considering their shared challenges regarding space traffic, orbital debris, radio-spectrum crowding, space situational awareness, and space weaponization. He concludes with policy recommendations for improving international space relations, focusing on enhanced communication, data sharing, and operational cooperation.

James Clay Moltz is a professor at the Naval Postgraduate School and holds a joint appointment in the Department of National Security Affairs and the Space Systems Academic Group. He is the author of The Politics of Space Security: Strategic Restraint and the Pursuit of National Interests and Asia's Space Race: National Motivations, Regional Rivalries, and International Risks. He has appeared on National Public Radio's "Science Friday" and has written on space topics for the Boston Globe, Nature, The New York Times, and the San Francisco Chronicle.