Spacepower

This entry provides an analysis of the concept of spacepower, which is defined as the ability of a state to deploy, operate, and leverage space-related capabilities in order to achieve its national objectives. The critical importance of simultaneously taking into account both the concepts of capacity and autonomy to properly understand spacepower and identify space powers is highlighted. Capacity encompasses the tangible assets and skills that enable a state to engage in diverse space activities, including deploying, operating, and leveraging space-related assets to fulfil national goals. Autonomy, on the other hand, pertains to a state's ability to independently decide its actions without external influence. Space power is a distinct status that is exclusively bestowed upon states that possess a definitive quantum of spacepower, characterised by the confluence of a high degree of decision-making autonomy and a robust level of executive capacity.