Summary of:
A First-Person History of Military Space
By Gregory S. Bowen
Having served 36 ½ years in the military with a background in space, missile defense,
and strategic deterrence, Bowen (2024) was able to provide abundant insight into the evolution
of outer space utilization for defensive military benefit and some of the current challenges it
presents. Throughout the genesis of “military space” in the 1980s, the capabilities of the United
States were highly classified and more strategic in nature against the Soviet Union, which at the
time was a quickly developing threat. Several space-based systems provided the US with many
advantages, including ISR (intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance), early missile warning
(enhancing the Nuclear Warning System), and PNT (position, navigation, and timing). The PNT
system, known as the TRANSIT satellite constellation, was originally developed for ballistic
missile submarines, but was critically important because it served as a foundation for the Global
Positioning System (GPS). Additionally, weather satellites were used for ISR to support both
aircraft operations and Navy movements, and satellite communications at the time mostly
supported just the National Command Authority (Bowen, 2024).
Referred to by Bowen (2024) as the “first space-enabled war”, the Gulf War in the early
1990s was the first opportunity for the US and its allies to demonstrate the strength of their
space-based advantages on a tactical level against Iraq. Specifically, during Operation Desert
Storm to liberate Kuwait, rather than approaching from the expected southern front which had
been heavily fortified with Iraqi forces, the US coalition forces were able to invade the
vulnerable western front through the seemingly unnavigable desert through mobile GPS
receivers (Bowen, 2024).
A First-Person History of Military Space
By Gregory S. Bowen
Having served 36 ½ years in the military with a background in space, missile defense,
and strategic deterrence, Bowen (2024) was able to provide abundant insight into the evolution
of outer space utilization for defensive military benefit and some of the current challenges it
presents. Throughout the genesis of “military space” in the 1980s, the capabilities of the United
States were highly classified and more strategic in nature against the Soviet Union, which at the
time was a quickly developing threat. Several space-based systems provided the US with many
advantages, including ISR (intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance), early missile warning
(enhancing the Nuclear Warning System), and PNT (position, navigation, and timing). The PNT
system, known as the TRANSIT satellite constellation, was originally developed for ballistic
missile submarines, but was critically important because it served as a foundation for the Global
Positioning System (GPS). Additionally, weather satellites were used for ISR to support both
aircraft operations and Navy movements, and satellite communications at the time mostly
supported just the National Command Authority (Bowen, 2024).
Referred to by Bowen (2024) as the “first space-enabled war”, the Gulf War in the early
1990s was the first opportunity for the US and its allies to demonstrate the strength of their
space-based advantages on a tactical level against Iraq. Specifically, during Operation Desert
Storm to liberate Kuwait, rather than approaching from the expected southern front which had
been heavily fortified with Iraqi forces, the US coalition forces were able to invade the
vulnerable western front through the seemingly unnavigable desert through mobile GPS
receivers (Bowen, 2024).
