Ever since the U.S. Air Force was established as an independent service at the end of World War II, it has been the de facto custodian of the nation's military space capabilities. Yet its involvement in space has been one of relentless struggle with the other services and with the ruling civilian leadership for control of the U.S. military space effort. Internally, the Air Force has faced semantic and theoretical struggles (whether "air and space" or "aerospace"-air and space as two separate spheres or as a single continuum), as well as budgetary and operational challenges associated with providing robust space capabilities. Mounting concern that faltering stewardship and insufficient funding of the nation's military space effort might eventually lead to a space "Pearl Harbor" prompted Congress in 1999 to establish a Space Commission to inquire into the nation's near-term military space needs.

Mastering the Ultimate High Ground reviews the main milestones in the Air Force's involvement in space since its creation as an independent service in 1947, the circumstances that occasioned the Space Commission's creation, and the conceptual and organizational road-blocks that have impeded a more rapid growth of U.S. military space capability. The author concludes by examining operational and institutional imperatives, unsettled funding issues, and next steps in space mission development.