State of The Space Industrial Base 2019: A Time for Action to Sustain US Economic & Military Leadership in Space

During the second half of the 2010s, Congress and Executive became increasingly concerned that the United States might not be able to sustain its strategic superiority in space in the face of rising challenges from China and an increasingly complex civil operating environment. One result was action to improve the fundamental infrastructure for space operations: the space industrial base.

This document is a white paper that discusses the threats, challenges, and actions needed to maintain the U.S. space industrial base and space dominance. It emphasizes the increasing importance of space to national economic, political, and military power. The document highlights the external threats posed by adversaries, particularly China, who are actively competing with and displacing the United States as a dominant space power. It also addresses the internal challenges of developing an industrial base that outpaces international adversaries in speed and innovation. The document recommends strategies such as upgrading methodologies, developing flexible markets, and making changes to government procurement and licensing processes. It concludes by emphasizing the need for a unified and comprehensive national strategy to build and refresh a strong space industrial base.

This annotated edition illustrates the capabilities of the AI Lab for Book-Lovers to add context and ease-of-use to manuscripts. It includes five types of abstracts, building from simplest to more complex: TLDR (one word), ELI5, TLDR (vanilla), Scientific Style, and Action Items; four essays to increase viewpoint diversity: Context in the Discourse, Formal Dissent; Red Team Critique; and MAGA Perspective; and Notable Passages and Nutshell Summaries for each page.