Space Triad

The United States is at a critical stage in its development in the space domain. The successful exploitation of space has simultaneously led to an unparalleled military advantage and an unintentional invitation to potential adversaries to develop means to deny and disrupt space capabilities. This paper identifies the conditions leading to this position and explores the viability of the new strategic triad as a template for space power. Consisting of offensive capabilities; defensive capabilities; a responsive infrastructure; and brought together by a core of situational awareness, command and control, and integrated planning, the space triad presents a balanced approach to space power development. Recognizing the inherent interrelationship of all operational domains, this paper discusses the space triad in the context of multiple domains and examines cross-domain operations. Within an illustrative vignette, the space triad demonstrates a potential to avoid or greatly diminish the impacts of a surprise attack against U.S. space capabilities. Finally, this paper discusses the implications, near-, mid-, and far-term, of adopting the space triad framework.