Original Sin: Power, Technology and War in Outer Space book launch w/ Bleddyn E. Bowen

Join author Bleddyn E. Bowen for the launch of his book Original Sin: Power, Technology and War in Outer Space, an eye-opening account of a world order shaped by spacepower and the threat of space warfare.

About the book

‘A work from Britain’s leading thinker on astropolitics… Dr Bowen strips away any pretence that space is not already a war-fighting domain.’ — Tim Marshall, author of The Power of Geography and Prisoners of Geography

Space technology was developed to enhance the killing power of the state. The Moon landings and the launch of the Space Shuttle were mere sideshows, drawing public attention away from the real goal: military and economic control of space as a source of power on Earth.

Today, as Bleddyn E. Bowen vividly recounts, thousands of satellites work silently in the background to provide essential military, intelligence and economic capabilities. No major power can do without them. Beyond Washington, Moscow and Beijing, truly global technologies have evolved, from the ground floor of the nuclear missile revolution to today’s orbital battlefield, shaping the wars to come. World powers including India, Japan and Europe are fully realising the strategic benefits of commanding Earth’s ‘cosmic coastline’, as a stage for war, development and prestige.

Yet, as new contenders spend more and more on outer space, there is scope for cautious optimism about the future of the Space Age—if we can recognise, rather than hide, its original sin.

About the author

Bleddyn E. Bowen is Associate Professor of International Relations at the University of Leicester, specialising in space policy and military uses of outer space. The internationally recognised author of War in Space, he consults on space policy for institutions including the UK Parliament, the European Space Agency, and the Pentagon.