Bad News Borscht: US Space Gets Taken for a Ride

This paper looks at the evolving relationships between military, civil and commercial space interests in an international context. More specifically, it examines the question of whether the United States' increased dependency on the commercial space sector for critical functions has ultimately made us overly dependent on the Russian space industry. This dependence would include critical functions for our commercial, civil and defense needs. In order to examine the above question, this paper focuses on several related issues evolving in the space arena today. The first issue is the recent change in US space policy emphasizing partnerships with industry. The second issue is the new surge in commercial space interests and capabilities worldwide.