Space Agenda 2025, published by The Aerospace Corporation, outlines a strategic roadmap for the future of U.S. space leadership, addressing the pressing challenges and opportunities in the evolving space domain. The agenda is framed around the need to strengthen leadership and competitiveness, catalyze commercial space innovation, and ensure long-term sustainability in space activities. As space becomes increasingly important to national security, economic interests, and international diplomacy, U.S. policymakers must act decisively to maintain leadership. The document provides a forward-looking analysis that spans defense, intelligence, civil, commercial, and international space, offering insights for the next presidential administration and Congress as they navigate key decisions over the next four years.
For more information, the full document can be accessed at Space Agenda 2025.
Strategic Foresight in Space
Space Agenda 2025 builds upon its predecessor, Space Agenda 2021, reflecting the changes in global and space environments since its release. These changes include the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), shifts in global power dynamics, and the growing importance of space as a contested domain. The document emphasizes the need for strategic foresight to anticipate challenges and leverage emerging opportunities.
In the current global landscape, space is no longer a niche domain reserved for government-led exploration and defense; it has become an integral part of modern life. From global positioning systems (GPS) that guide daily commutes to satellite-based remote sensing that monitors climate change, space technology impacts almost every aspect of society. However, the increased reliance on space assets has introduced new vulnerabilities, as adversaries develop capabilities to target critical infrastructure in space. This makes the need for space security and resilience more important than ever.
The U.S. faces competition from both established and emerging space-faring nations. Countries like China and Russia are rapidly expanding their space capabilities, while private companies in the U.S. and abroad are driving innovation in satellite technology, launch services, and space exploration. The intersection of commercial and government interests in space has created a complex ecosystem that requires thoughtful governance and strategic planning.
Space Agenda 2025 provides a framework to guide policymakers in addressing three key themes: strengthening leadership and competitiveness, catalyzing commercial space, and charting future value. Within these categories, the document identifies 20 specific issues that will shape the U.S. space agenda over the next four years.
Strengthening Leadership and Competitiveness
1. Enabling Space for National Prosperity
Space is vital to the national interest because of its role in supporting critical services like communications, weather monitoring, and defense systems. The future of U.S. space activities promises further value through advancements in science, medicine, and technology. Space offers an untapped well of innovation that could enhance prosperity, but policymakers must act to ensure the infrastructure and policies are in place to unlock that potential. The next administration will need to prioritize investments that solidify space’s role in national prosperity.
2. Strategic Supply Chains
Globalization has made U.S. supply chains more efficient but also more vulnerable. The COVID-19 pandemic exposed weaknesses in these supply chains, particularly for critical defense and space components. As the DoD transitions to proliferated satellite systems, it must ensure that supply chains are resilient enough to support rapid production and deployment. Stockpiling essential components, securing domestic production, and reducing dependencies on foreign materials will be essential for maintaining supply chain security.
3. Awareness and Management of Space Traffic
As more nations and private companies launch satellites into low Earth orbit (LEO), space traffic management has become a pressing issue. Without proper regulation and coordination, the growing number of satellites and debris could lead to collisions that endanger both commercial and military operations. The U.S. must take the lead in setting international norms and standards for space traffic management to protect its assets and maintain the safety of the orbital environment.
4. Closing the Resiliency Time Gap
The U.S. military has made strides in developing resilient space systems to defend against known threats. However, space systems must also be prepared for unforeseen risks that could arise in the future. Policymakers need to ensure that space architectures are designed with long-term resiliency in mind, considering both current and emerging threats. This includes investing in distributed and proliferated systems that can withstand attacks and continue providing critical capabilities.
5. Space’s Role in Strengthening Deterrence
Space plays an increasingly important role in national defense and deterrence strategies. Satellites provide essential services such as missile warning, communications, and intelligence, which enhance the U.S.’s ability to deter adversaries. Policymakers must ensure that space remains a domain free from nuclear weapons, in line with the Outer Space Treaty. This requires strengthening alliances and partnerships to bolster deterrence and preparing for the possibility that space could become an arena of conflict.
6. Leadership in Space as an Instrument of National Power
Space is a vital component of U.S. national power, contributing to military strength, diplomatic efforts, and economic growth. The U.S. must maintain its leadership role in shaping global space norms, particularly as new space-faring nations emerge. Collaboration with allies and partners is essential to promoting U.S. interests in space, and policymakers should leverage all elements of national power—military, diplomatic, economic, and informational—to advance U.S. objectives in space.
7. Making National Security Space “Affordable”
Despite advancements in space technology, national security space systems remain expensive. Policymakers must find ways to reduce the cost of space systems while maintaining high standards of performance and reliability. One solution is to leverage commercial space innovations, such as reusable rockets and modular satellite designs, to drive down costs. Additionally, the government should explore alternative funding models, such as public-private partnerships, to share the financial burden of space investments.
Catalyzing Commercial Space
8. Ensuring Health of the Space Market
The commercial space sector is critical to the U.S. economy, providing services like satellite communications, Earth observation, and space tourism. However, the market faces challenges related to sustainability and competition. The U.S. government must support the growth of the commercial space sector by ensuring a healthy regulatory environment, promoting competition, and providing funding for research and development. Additionally, the government should help mitigate risks by ensuring that commercial space companies have access to reliable supply chains and a stable customer base.
9. Communicating the Value of Space
Space is an invisible yet indispensable part of daily life, enabling everything from GPS navigation to internet services. Despite its importance, many Americans are unaware of the critical role space plays in the economy and national security. The space enterprise must do a better job of communicating the value of space to the public and policymakers. By educating citizens and leaders about the benefits of space, the U.S. can build public support for continued investments in space infrastructure and capabilities.
10. Bolstering Innovation
Innovation is the lifeblood of the space industry, driving advancements in satellite technology, launch services, and space exploration. The U.S. government must ensure that the space innovation ecosystem remains healthy by supporting early-stage research, encouraging private investment, and fostering collaboration between government, academia, and industry. Policymakers should also work to reduce regulatory barriers that can stifle innovation and slow the adoption of new technologies.
11. Investing in America’s Future Through Space
Space investments have historically led to groundbreaking innovations that benefit society, such as GPS and satellite communications. Future investments in space hold the potential to drive even more technological advancements, from autonomous spacecraft to space-based manufacturing. Policymakers must continue to invest in space infrastructure and human capital, including science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education, to ensure that the U.S. remains at the forefront of space innovation.
12. Normalizing Space as a Part of Every Industry
The space industry is often seen as separate from terrestrial industries, but the reality is that space plays a critical role in sectors like telecommunications, agriculture, and transportation. To fully integrate space into the broader economy, policymakers must work to normalize space as part of every industry. This can be achieved by fostering collaboration between space and non-space industries, promoting the adoption of space-based technologies, and demonstrating the economic benefits of space investments.
Charting Future Value
13. Building a Best-in-Class Workforce
A robust and diverse workforce is essential to maintaining U.S. leadership in space. The space industry needs workers from a wide range of disciplines, including engineers, scientists, technicians, and designers. Policymakers must take steps to ensure that the U.S. workforce is prepared for the demands of the space economy by expanding access to STEM education, promoting diversity and inclusion, and encouraging the participation of underrepresented groups in the space industry.
14. Environmental Stewardship
As space activities increase, so do the environmental challenges associated with space exploration and commercialization. The U.S. must lead in promoting environmental stewardship in space, ensuring that activities in orbit and on celestial bodies are conducted responsibly. This includes minimizing space debris, protecting the lunar environment, and ensuring that space exploration does not harm planetary ecosystems. By adopting sustainable practices, the U.S. can ensure that space remains a viable domain for future generations.
15. Tackling Orbital Debris
The growing number of satellites and debris in orbit poses a significant threat to the safety and sustainability of space activities. Without proactive measures, space could become too congested to support future missions. The U.S. must take the lead in addressing the orbital debris problem by adopting policies that promote debris removal, satellite deorbiting, and responsible satellite design. Additionally, international cooperation is essential to developing global standards for debris management and prevention.
16. Preventing a Day Without Space
Space is critical to the functioning of modern society, providing essential services like weather forecasting, communications, and navigation. However, space is increasingly congested, contested, and vulnerable to disruption by adversaries. The U.S. must take steps to ensure the resilience of its space systems, both on orbit and on the ground, to prevent a “day without space” scenario in which space services are interrupted. This includes investing in distributed architectures, enhancing cybersecurity, and developing backup systems to ensure continuity of operations.
17. Proactive Policymaking for AI in Space
Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to revolutionize space operations, from autonomous spacecraft to real-time data analysis. However, the integration of AI into space systems also presents risks, such as algorithmic bias and cybersecurity vulnerabilities. Policymakers must take a proactive approach to AI in space by establishing standards for its safe and responsible use. This includes ensuring that AI systems are transparent, trustworthy, and secure, while fostering innovation in AI applications for space exploration and defense.
18. Inspiring the Next Generation
Space has always inspired humanity’s curiosity and sense of adventure, and it has the potential to catalyze big thinking in America once again. As the space industry embarks on ambitious missions, such as returning humans to the Moon and sending astronauts to Mars, the U.S. has an opportunity to inspire the next generation of scientists, engineers, and explorers. Policymakers should invest in educational programs that engage students with space, foster a culture of innovation, and provide opportunities for young people to pursue careers in the space industry.
19. Designing Space for Humans
Human space exploration is poised to expand beyond the International Space Station (ISS), with missions planned for the Moon, Mars, and beyond. However, the space environment is inhospitable to human life, and designing systems that allow humans to thrive in space presents significant challenges. Policymakers must invest in the development of life-support systems, habitats, and health technologies that will enable humans to live and work in space for extended periods. Additionally, space exploration missions must consider the psychological and social aspects of long-duration spaceflight to ensure that astronauts can maintain their mental and physical health.
20. Off-Planet Governance
As human activities expand into cislunar space and beyond, the U.S. must take a leadership role in establishing governance structures for off-planet exploration. The Outer Space Treaty provides a foundation for space governance, but it does not address many of the challenges posed by modern space activities, such as lunar mining and resource extraction. The U.S. should work with international partners to update the treaty and establish clear rules for the use of celestial resources, property rights, and environmental protection. By taking a proactive approach to off-planet governance, the U.S. can ensure that space remains a domain of peaceful cooperation and scientific discovery.
Summary
Space Agenda 2025 presents a roadmap for the future of U.S. space leadership, addressing the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. By focusing on the 20 key issues identified—ranging from supply chain resilience and space traffic management to innovation and off-planet governance—the U.S. can maintain its competitive edge in space and ensure that the benefits of space exploration and commercialization are realized for generations to come.
