NPS News Profile:

Professor Clay Moltz Publishes New Book on the Politics of Space Security

Professor Clay Moltz, a Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) National Security Affairs Department faculty member, is studying the implications of space becoming an increasingly crowded, and perhaps dangerous, place. To address these issues, he recently wrote and published a book, The Politics of Space Security: Strategic Restraint and the Pursuit of National Interests (Stanford University Press, 2008).

Moltz’s book analyzes debates over military uses of space since 1957, particularly in an international context. It is the only comprehensive study covering the first 50 years of space security that also highlights the main trends in military space developments, their underlying causes, and the factors that are likely to influence their future course.

“It took me 20 years off and on to write this book,” Moltz explained. In the meantime, he published numerous other volumes on Russia, North Korea, and nuclear proliferation issues, all areas in which he instructs at NPS. “My current book began with an interest sparked by my doctoral dissertation, which had focused on U.S. and Soviet competition and cooperation in space. As time passed, it became a much bigger project.”

At the time of his doctoral studies in the mid-1980s, Moltz didn’t want to write what he called “another boring dissertation on the roots of Soviet foreign policy.” Instead, he decided that space was an area of superpower rivalry that was not receiving enough attention, but was going to become more important for future international security.

“At that time, studying space policy and politics was a very risky choice because it was so unconventional,” said Moltz. “But I thought the topic would be interesting and useful to know about.” But after the breakup of the Soviet Union, no one was interested in space competition, so he put his book plans aside. Eventually, however, it came back.  Now, he says, “I’m very glad that I had something to work with, because space security has emerged as a central concern for militaries around the world, and especially the U.S.”

In conducting his research, Moltz looked at the existing literature regarding the debate over military uses of space and noticed significant gaps that needed to be filled.

“Teaching in this field I found that many of the books written on this subject were old,” explained Moltz. “Nobody had written a study that had covered the whole 50 years of debates over the military use of space. I felt this was a contribution I could make to the literature and also to the field.”

In analyzing space policy debates, Moltz said that it was very important to him to try to avoid bias and provide balance. “What I wanted to do was write a book that provided all the aspects of the debate, and then let readers decide what perspectives they thought were the most useful, “ he said.

But Moltz also brings out some new findings in his book.  He points out that while space was initially viewed as a new battlefield, “it ended up being an area of surprising U.S.-Soviet cooperation.” He outlines what he calls a “fitful and uneven” process of U.S. and Soviet learning about so-called “environmental security.”

“When we first went into space we treated this new area as just another extension of the existing superpower arms race,” explained Moltz. “For example, from 1958 to 1962 we and the Soviets detonated nine nuclear weapons in space.  But the electromagnetic pulse radiation emitted by one of the largest tests in 1962 accidentally disabled about six satellites: British, Russian and several of our own.

“These were some of the first-generation military and civilian satellites,” continued Moltz. “We realized very quickly that if we continued on this path we wouldn’t even be able to use space anymore.”

A second issue Moltz highlights in his book is that of the increasing concern about orbital debris. According to the U.S. Strategic Command, approximately 13,000 pieces of space debris currently orbit the Earth at speeds averaging 18,000 mph. U.S. Space Command painstakingly tracks these larger fragments. This allows for the generally safe maneuvering of satellites and spacecraft. However, there are millions of smaller pieces of debris that are too small to track. Controlling the spread of this debris is becoming a major international challenge.

“Over the course of the Cold War, we eventually realized that space was most useful for gathering information and for military support functions,” said Moltz. “Collectively, we and the Soviets decided we would use space mainly for navigation, reconnaissance, communications and early warning.

“In many respects what space did was provide some stability.  It allowed us to move from an unlimited arms race to arms control during the 1970s.  Because we had these assets in space, we could verify what was on the ground,” Moltz continued. “Without space we couldn’t have reached these accords.”  Today, he says, new forms of international cooperation are going to be needed to maintain safe access to space and overcome the emerging threat posed by problems such as orbital debris.

Boasting a bibliography of more than 200 book-length sources, not including journals and trade publications, Moltz’s research includes interviews with countless experts and officials from his many years of work in the space field. 

“You want to read as much as you possibly can,” explained Moltz, “so you can provide a good snapshot for your readers, especially for students.  I think there is a growing interest now in space policy and yet still a relative dearth of good materials to use in the classroom.”

Moltz explained that NPS is an excellent source of expertise in space studies and that it has enabled him to broaden his scope of understanding.

“When I worked at the Monterey Institute, I was the only person there following space issues,” said Moltz. “Here, we have Rudy Panholzer, who is one of the fathers of military space studies in the U.S. and has done tremendous work in this field. And we have many other outstanding faculty members, including former astronauts. It is just a very good, supportive community with a wealth of knowledge - I’ve learned a lot from my NPS colleagues.” 

Prior to arriving at NPS, Moltz spent 14 years at the Monterey Institute, where he was a faculty member and deputy director of the Center for Nonproliferation Studies. He served as founding editor of the center’s journal, The Nonproliferation Review. After finishing his Ph.D. at UC Berkeley, he had also held positions at the University of California, San Diego, and at Duke University.

Today, Moltz serves part-time as the chairman of a study group at NASA Ames Research Center that conducts research on issues likely to affect the success of future U.S. space activities.

Moltz is already beginning work on his next book, which will focus on the growing space power of China, India, Japan and South Korea, as well as their increasing impact on international space activities.

“There really isn’t a good book on why in Asia there is this particular drive now for space capabilities—in both the civilian and military sectors,” explained Moltz. He plans on taking a trip to South Korea in the near future to start doing interviews for the book.

“I just hope this one doesn’t take me another 20 years to write, because I’ll be an old man if that’s the case,” joked Moltz.

Professor Clay Moltz holds a picture of the Earth and the surrounding orbital debris field. He addressed this issue and many others in his recently published book, The Politics of Space Security: Strategic Restraint and the Pursuit of National Interests (Stanford University Press, 2008). (Navy photo by Javier Chagoya)