Fast Space: everaging Ultra Low-Cost Space Access for 21st Century Challenges

This 2017 report played a crucial role in the decisions involved in creating United States Space Force and remains an essential guide to thinking about the strategic value of ultra-low-cost launch.

This document discusses the potential for the US Air Force to leverage new concepts and technologies to gain strategic advantage in space. It highlights the increasing vulnerability of the current space architecture and the need for the US to regain advantage in the face of growing competition. The document proposes a \"Fast Space\" approach, which envisions an ecosystem of concepts, capabilities, and industrial partnerships that prioritize speed as the defining attribute of advantage in space. This approach includes sortie-on-demand launch capability, economically viable business cases, high launch rates, lower costs, rapid turn-around, and higher reliability. The document also emphasizes the importance of reducing costs through reusability and increased flight rates. It recommends partnering with US commercial firms pursuing ultra-low-cost access to space and creating a purpose-built organization to manage these partnerships. Additionally, it suggests shaping the interagency environment to ease regulatory burdens and integrating high launch rate rapid-turnaround approaches into the joint requirements and acquisition process. Overall, the document emphasizes the need for the US to seize the opportunity presented by the changing landscape of space exploration and exploitation.

This annotated edition illustrates the capabilities of the AI Lab for Book-Lovers to add context and ease-of-use to manuscripts. It includes five types of abstracts, building from simplest to more complex: TLDR (one word), ELI5, TLDR (vanilla), Scientific Style, and Action Items; three essays to increase viewpoint diversity: Grounds for Dissent; Red Team Critique; and MAGA Perspective; and Notable Passages and Nutshell Summaries for each page.