PUBLICATIONS

Through its publications, INSS aims to provide expert insights, cutting-edge research, and innovative solutions that contribute to shaping the national security discourse and preparing the next generation of leaders in the field.

 

Publications

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Tag: near-Earth orbits

A graphic for the episode, "Strategy in Cislunar Space and Beyond" for The Space Advisory Podcast, featuring Mr. Todd Pennington. Todd Pennington is featured prominently on the right-hand side in front of a blue background with details about the podcast on the left-hand side.

March 31, 2026

Strategy in Cislunar Space and Beyond

Mr. Todd Pennington was the featured guest on this month's episode of the Space Advisory Podcast, discussing his recent paper on strategy in space frontier areas (xGEO and cislunar space, and beyond).

Cover of Strategic Perspectives 45, Stable (green) and unstable (purple) manifold arcs associated with an Earth-Moon L1 halo orbit in the circular-restricted three-body problem (CR3BP), illustrating low-energy dynamical pathways used for cislunar transfer design.

Feb. 12, 2026

Understanding Space Frontier Areas

Distant reaches of space loom as a strategic horizon. The vast majority of space operations have, so far, been limited to a few families of near-Earth orbits. However, space beyond geostationary Earth orbit, or xGEO, is likely to become important for strategic purposes in the near future. This is especially true of cislunar space, that region of space in which the gravity of Earth’s moon is significant. This paper refers to xGEO and cislunar space as Space Frontier Areas, since missions there have not yet reached sufficient scale to cluster into patterns of use.