Should the United States impose limits on the development of space weapons? What should the space weapons category contain? What challenges will be faced in the development of space weapons? How will these developments relate to the development of technology for space travel? How will these advances affect life on Earth? Currently, the United States does not have weapons of mass destruction in space. The United States has tactical capabilities in space that provide defense and support campaigns taking place here on earth. The United States can jam or destroy enemy satellite ground control stations with aircraft or special operations forces.1 Using surveillance satellites, U.S. military forces are able to use the latest intelligence available, giving the U.S. military a distinct tactical advantage. Weather reports anywhere on the planet are available at any time. The militarization of space is the next logical step for the U.S. military. There are currently four major classifications of space weapons. One of these is directed energy weapons which use focused energy transmitted at the speed of light to destroy targets. Directed energy weapons could destroy targets on or above the surface of the Earth. This type of weapon uses a large amount of fuel to destroy a target, because the light beam must stay on the target long enough to create the heat necessary for its destruction. The other three types all destroy targets by imparting mass to them using either kinetic energy due to speed and mass or chemical energy stored in conventional explosives.1 Kinetic weapons designed to destroy a target at -above the Earth's surface would use the impact velocity to perform the operation. job. A large number of satellites would be required to constantly have a satellite...... middle of paper ......r against the militarization of space, this will most likely be a reality in the relatively near future. The sooner the United States funds programs in this area, the better. He who rules space will rule the planet. Works Cited1. B. Lambeth, Mastering the Ultimate Heights: Next Steps in Military Uses of Space (Kindle: RAND, 1999) 1-1932. B. Preston, Space Weapons: Earth Wars (Kindle: RAND, 2002)1-2053. M. Kaku, Physics of the Impossible: A Scientific Exploration of the World of Phasers, Force Fields, Teleportation, and Time Travel (Kindle: Anchor, 2008) 1-3294. R. Handberg, Ballistic missile defense and the future of American security: agendas, perceptions. Technology and Politics (Kindle: Praeger, 2001)1-2645. A. Woolf, Missile Defense, Arms Control and Deterrence: A New Strategic Framework (Kindle: Ninety-Nice Cent, 2009) 1-80