Defensive Space Analysis Tool (DSPAT)

Version 2.0

Christopher Lynch, Forrest E. Morgan, James Syme, Michael Nixon

ToolPublished Jan 5, 2018

Cover: Defensive Space Analysis Tool (DSPAT)
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The Defensive Space Analysis Tool (DSPAT) is a utility developed by RAND Project AIR FORCE (PAF) to support the analysis of alternative approaches to defensive and offensive space control. Applied in a framework informed by sequential game theory, DSPAT can help strategic planners anticipate what space control capabilities potential adversaries would likely develop and employ in confrontations with the United States and help U.S. decisionmakers assess the potential benefits and risks of alternative approaches to deter or defeat those threats.

DSPAT guides analysts through the sequential game-theoretic analysis and helps them assess the range of potential space control moves and counter-moves that could occur in an engagement. The tool evaluates offensive space control (OSC), defensive space control (DSC) and counter-defensive space control (C-DSC) options available to aggressors and defenders.

This user's manual explains how to employ Defensive Space Analysis Tool (DSPAT) within a game-theoretic framework for assessing the potential deterrent value, escalation risks, and political costs of alternative space control options. This manual describes the tool; guides users through the processes of opening, populating, and running it; and explains how to interpret its outputs.

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Lynch, Christopher, Forrest E. Morgan, James Syme, and Michael Nixon, Defensive Space Analysis Tool (DSPAT): Version 2.0. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2018. https://www.rand.org/pubs/tools/TL121.html.
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The research reported here was sponsored by the executive director of the Space and Missile Systems Center, and was conducted within the Force Modernization and Employment Program of RAND Project AIR FORCE.

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