MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. -- Space supports nearly every aspect of modern military operations. Navigation, communications, missile warning and intelligence collection all rely on capabilities operating far above the Earth. As competitors expand their capabilities and commercial companies reshape the domain, military leaders are being challenged to think differently about deterrence, risk and the role space plays in future conflict.
Preparing leaders for those challenges is part of Air University's mission.
As America's Airpower University, Air University integrates education, research, doctrine development, analysis and operational engagement to develop joint warfighters and help the Joint Force address complex challenges. Across its schools, colleges, centers and institutes, the university prepares leaders to understand difficult problems, evaluate competing ideas and make informed decisions in an environment where technology, threats and operating concepts continue to evolve.
Few areas illustrate that challenge more clearly than space.
Military forces have relied on space-based capabilities for decades, but many of the concepts shaping competition in the domain are still taking shape. That's part of what makes the subject so compelling to Wendy N. Whitman Cobb, professor of strategy and security studies and deputy commandant of the School of Advanced Air and Space Studies.
"The space domain is not a new domain, as my Space Force students like to remind everybody," Whitman Cobb said. "But studying it is."
New technologies continue to emerge. Commercial providers are expanding access to space. Competitors continue looking for advantages in an environment that has become increasingly important to military operations. Understanding those changes is increasingly important for leaders who will be called upon to plan, operate and lead in the years ahead.
"We're on the cutting edge of what it means to think about space power, teach it and understand it," Whitman Cobb said. "It's an evolving field. There are still a lot of unanswered questions, and our students are going to be the ones who help answer them."
Within Air University, SAASS is one example of how the university contributes to understanding challenges affecting the force. Faculty and students examine topics ranging from deterrence and strategic competition to the growing influence of commercial space capabilities and their implications for military operations.
Those discussions extend beyond the classroom.
"The commercial space industry changes our strategic calculations of what we can and can't do in space," Whitman Cobb said.
Those issues increasingly affect planners, operators and decision-makers across the Department of the Air Force and Joint Force. Air University faculty examine those topics through research, publications and collaboration across the force, helping connect academic study with operational challenges.
Research remains a central part of that effort. Across Air University, faculty and students contribute work that helps frame difficult questions, inform decision-making and support leaders confronting operational challenges across the Joint Force. Those conversations often inform classroom instruction, student research and broader discussions throughout the force.
"I think the biggest thing we can do is send back to the Joint Force the educated people that will be in place to solve these really hard operational problems," Whitman Cobb said.
That focus on developing leaders extends beyond traditional classroom instruction. In SAASS's Space Power course, students examine current issues affecting the space domain and contribute to broader discussions through research and collaborative projects. During the past two years, students have also produced episodes for the "Space Power Discussions" podcast, discussing books and emerging issues related to space power. The episodes are publicly available and intended to support continued learning and professional development across the force.
One of Air University's strengths is its ability to bring together expertise from across its schools, colleges, centers and institutes. Researchers, educators, doctrine developers and operational practitioners often approach the same challenge from different angles. Bringing those perspectives together helps Air University generate ideas, develop leaders and help address challenges facing the Joint Force.
The impact can be seen in graduates returning to operational assignments better prepared to tackle complex challenges, in research that helps frame difficult problems and in the university's contributions to discussions taking place across the Department of the Air Force, Joint Staff and Combatant Commands.
The pace of change in the space domain shows no signs of slowing. Commercial activity continues to expand. New technologies continue to emerge. More nations and more companies are becoming involved in activities that were once limited to a handful of major players.
"Space is baked into everything we do," Whitman Cobb said. "We're going to see more countries, more companies, more people being involved in the space domain than ever before."
Keeping pace requires leaders who can think critically, adapt to changing conditions and make informed decisions when the answers are not always obvious.
Across its schools, colleges, centers and institutes, Air University helps develop leaders while contributing research, analysis and expertise that support the force's understanding of emerging challenges.
As the space domain continues to evolve, the university remains focused on preparing Airmen, Guardians and joint warfighters for the demands of future operations. Through education, research, doctrine development and operational engagement, Air University contributes to the ideas, discussions and problem-solving efforts that help strengthen the Joint Force.