Space and space operations are not new concepts to the Navy. The U.S. Navy's involvement in space spans four decades. During this time, the U.S. Navy has been a leader in developing national space capabilities, pioneering many of the early programs from launching satellites to placing a man on the moon. This involvement is continuing at an accelerated pace with significant implications for future Naval operations.

The United States must operate successfully in space to help assure its security and economic well being. The Department of the Navy is a major user of space capabilities, although those capabilities are now primarily provided by DOD, the Air Force, and NOAA. Following a DOD assessment of national space security management in 2001, the Navy commissioned a Panel to Review Space to assess Navy space policy and strategy. As an extension of that review, the NRC was requested by the Navy to examine its needs in space for providing future operational and technical capabilities. This report presents a discussion of the strategic framework of future space needs, the roles and responsibilities for meeting those needs, an assessment of Navy support to space mission areas, and a proposed vision for fulfilling Naval forces space needs.