Ensuring Space Security – The United States Action Plan

Key Chapter Title List

1. Executive Summary
2. Introduction: Space as a Critical Strategic Domain
3. Findings: U.S. Space Leadership, Vulnerabilities, and Deficiencies in the International System
4. Recommendations: Action Plan Under Seven Core Principles
5. Conclusion: Strategic Imperative
6. Concurring Views
7. Appendix: Acronyms, Task Force Members, and Observers List

Document Overview

The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) Task Force Report titled "Securing Space – A U.S. Action Plan," released in 2025, is an authoritative strategic assessment addressing the rapid transformation in the space domain and the severe challenges it poses to U.S. national interests. The report notes that space has evolved from an exclusive domain dominated by a few nations during the Cold War into a congested, contested, and vulnerable commons, now involving over 90 countries and commercial companies represented by entities like SpaceX. The number of satellites in low Earth orbit has doubled since 2018, with over 40,000 pieces of space debris larger than 10 centimeters in diameter. Furthermore, China and Russia have developed various capabilities, including electronic warfare and direct-ascent anti-satellite missiles, capable of diverting, blinding, or destroying critical U.S. space assets. These changes render space a strategic vulnerability, a strategic challenge, and a strategic imperative for the United States.

Based on thorough data analysis and expert discussions, the report presents seven core findings. It argues that U.S. leadership in space is crucial for its national security, global leadership, and both hard and soft power. However, U.S. space assets are increasingly vulnerable, while China is emerging as a comprehensive peer competitor. International organizations and treaty regimes, including the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space and the International Telecommunication Union, were not designed to manage the current surge in space activities and traffic. Moreover, the expertise of the commercial sector and non-state actors is indispensable for effective space traffic management.

To address these challenges, the report proposes seven specific policy recommendations, forming the cornerstone of the U.S. action plan. These include: establishing space as a top national priority; revitalizing U.S. international leadership in space; fixing vulnerabilities in space assets and enhancing deterrence; pursuing strategic engagement with China on issues like "hotline" communications while taking competitive measures; improving space traffic management based on existing international mechanisms; incorporating the commercial sector and other relevant non-state actors into the governance framework; and treating space as a global commons. The report particularly emphasizes the importance of convening a space summit early in a new Trump administration, designating critical space systems as "critical infrastructure," updating the Wolf Amendment to allow space for basic scientific research while guarding against technology theft, and building cooperative networks based on the Artemis Accords and existing international organizations.

The report's analysis is based on task force meetings, field research at international organizations in Vienna and Brussels, and extensive consultations with U.S. government agencies, commercial companies, and academic institutions. Its conclusions aim to provide the new U.S. administration and Congress with a forward-looking and practical policy roadmap to prevent the United States from losing its space leadership and to ensure that space, as a global commons, can continue to serve the security and prosperity of all humanity. The report includes concurring views from some members, including former U.S. Ambassador to NATO Kay Bailey Hutchison, who adopt a more cautious stance regarding the pace and scope of some cooperative recommendations.

Key Chapter Title List

1. Executive Summary
2. Introduction: Space as a Critical Strategic Domain
3. Findings: U.S. Space Leadership, Vulnerabilities, and Deficiencies in the International System
4. Recommendations: Action Plan Under Seven Core Principles
5. Conclusion: Strategic Imperative
6. Concurring Views
7. Appendix: Acronyms, Task Force Members, and Observers List

Document Overview

The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) Task Force Report titled "Securing Space – A U.S. Action Plan," released in 2025, is an authoritative strategic assessment addressing the rapid transformation in the space domain and the severe challenges it poses to U.S. national interests. The report notes that space has evolved from an exclusive domain dominated by a few nations during the Cold War into a congested, contested, and vulnerable commons, now involving over 90 countries and commercial companies represented by entities like SpaceX. The number of satellites in low Earth orbit has doubled since 2018, with over 40,000 pieces of space debris larger than 10 centimeters in diameter. Furthermore, China and Russia have developed various capabilities, including electronic warfare and direct-ascent anti-satellite missiles, capable of diverting, blinding, or destroying critical U.S. space assets. These changes render space a strategic vulnerability, a strategic challenge, and a strategic imperative for the United States.

Based on thorough data analysis and expert discussions, the report presents seven core findings. It argues that U.S. leadership in space is crucial for its national security, global leadership, and both hard and soft power. However, U.S. space assets are increasingly vulnerable, while China is emerging as a comprehensive peer competitor. International organizations and treaty regimes, including the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space and the International Telecommunication Union, were not designed to manage the current surge in space activities and traffic. Moreover, the expertise of the commercial sector and non-state actors is indispensable for effective space traffic management.

To address these challenges, the report proposes seven specific policy recommendations, forming the cornerstone of the U.S. action plan. These include: establishing space as a top national priority; revitalizing U.S. international leadership in space; fixing vulnerabilities in space assets and enhancing deterrence; pursuing strategic engagement with China on issues like "hotline" communications while taking competitive measures; improving space traffic management based on existing international mechanisms; incorporating the commercial sector and other relevant non-state actors into the governance framework; and treating space as a global commons. The report particularly emphasizes the importance of convening a space summit early in a new Trump administration, designating critical space systems as "critical infrastructure," updating the Wolf Amendment to allow space for basic scientific research while guarding against technology theft, and building cooperative networks based on the Artemis Accords and existing international organizations.

The report's analysis is based on task force meetings, field research at international organizations in Vienna and Brussels, and extensive consultations with U.S. government agencies, commercial companies, and academic institutions. Its conclusions aim to provide the new U.S. administration and Congress with a forward-looking and practical policy roadmap to prevent the United States from losing its space leadership and to ensure that space, as a global commons, can continue to serve the security and prosperity of all humanity. The report includes concurring views from some members, including former U.S. Ambassador to NATO Kay Bailey Hutchison, who adopt a more cautious stance regarding the pace and scope of some cooperative recommendations.