



Earth's land surface is divided into national territories. They're big enough to hide & hoard stuff & they can be controlled & defended by local regimes. + Proponents of #SpaceForce think big. They thing space is big. But for security, #space is notably small. I explain.Earth's land surface is divided into national territories. They're big enough to hide & hoard stuff & they can be controlled & defended by local regimes. +

This applies to national airspace, too. It is actually becoming easier for nations to defend their airspace. As long as nations stay out of each others' airspace (without permission) there is no problem. But above 100 km or so this changes entirely. +

For security purposes, space means mostly orbital space. Low Earth orbit, up to about 2000 km, is militarily important because it's close to the surface. Weapons such as space-based missile defense interceptors or any surface-strike weapons would need to be parked in LEO. +