The Challenges for Space Strategy

Join Dr James WE Smith and Dr John Klein for a discussion, presentations and debate about the future of space strategy and the challenges the United States and its allies face with space and its influence on a range of matters on Earth.

Dr Smith and Dr Klein started an annual tradition of a space lecture once a year covering space warfare, space strategy and matters related to space. The online lecture will explore a range of topics ranging from the current state of the intellectual thought of space strategy, warfare, doctrine and technologies through to the geopolitical and related matters which space is involved in along with it being a more contents domain in itself.

This lecture will be of interest to students, military personnel and government officials who are interested in space warfare, space power, defence, strategic studies, and international relations. After Dr Smith's and Dr Klein's presentations and discussions there will be an open Q&A session.

About the speakers

Dr James WE Smith is a British Academy Research sponsored scholar and Laughton-Corbett Research Fellow at King's College London, Department of War Studies. As the Laughton-Corbett Research Fellow, James focuses on matters such as strategic studies, maritime strategy and space. He has a forthcoming book titles on of which is on Space Strategy. James has recently been working with partners such NASA, the US Navy and others on the future of strategy, seekingcloser integration of domains though a 'seabed to space' approach.

Dr John Klein, callsign “Patsy,” is a Senior Fellow and Strategist at Falcon Research, Inc., and also instructs space policy and strategy courses at George Washington University’s Space Policy Institute, Georgetown University’s Strategic Studies Program, and Institute of World Politics at the undergraduate, graduate, and doctorate levels respectively. He routinely writes on space strategy, deterrence, and the Law of Armed Conflict. He is the author of the books Space Warfare: Strategy, Principles and Policy (2006), Understanding Space Strategy: The Art of War in Space (2019), and the recently released Fight for the Final Frontier: Irregular Warfare in Space (2023), along with Space Warfare 2nd Edition (2024).

Patsy is also a retired Commander of the United States Navy, receiving his commission through the NROTC program at Georgia Tech. He served for 22 years as a Naval Flight Officer, primarily flying in the S-3B Viking carrier-based aircraft. Patsy supported combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. His tours included the Executive Officer of Sea Control Squadron Twenty-Four and the final Commanding Officer of Sea Control Weapons School.Patsy holds a master’s in Aeronautical Engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School, a master’s in National Security and Strategic Studies from the Naval War College, and a PhD in Strategic Studies from the University of Reading, England. Patsy is a distinguished graduate of the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School. He has over 2,700 flight hours in 27 different types of aircraft and over 600 carrier-arrested landings.