Surrendering Outer Space: America Yields the High Ground

Discusses US plans to retire its space shuttle fleet for the US. At issue is what might happen to US standing during the gap between the last shuttle flight & the first launch of the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle of the Constellation program, which will not be until at least 2015. During this gap, it is asserted that the US will outsource its space operations, probably to Russia. Attention is given to the current space program costs, the space program's national security/counterterrorism dimensions, China's engagement with space technology, the prospect of relying on Russia to meet US space operational needs, & President Barack Obama's space policy. While an argument might be made to shift space operations to the US military, under Obama, this is seen as unlikely. What all this means in a period of declinism is touched on in closing. D. Edelman