Reading the report posted by distiller it says alot more “than things in earth orbit are vital to U.S. interest and that the U.S. will do what it takes to protect their interests.”
It effectively says the things allowed into earth orbit will be controlled in accordance with US interests.
The United States considers space capabilities — including the ground and space segments and supporting links — vital to its national interests. Consistent with this policy, the United States will: preserve its rights, capabilities, and freedom of action in space; dissuade or deter others from either impeding those rights or developing capabilities intended to do so; take those actions necessary to protect its space capabilities; respond to interference; and deny, if necessary, adversaries the use of space capabilities hostile to U.S. national interests;
That bold bit is worrying, and:
To achieve the goals of this policy, the Secretary of Defense shall:
Develop capabilities, plans, and options to ensure freedom of action in space, and, if
directed, deny such freedom of action to adversaries;
NOTE: Use of adversaries, not enemies. There are subtle differences between adversary and enemy. An adversary is somewhere between competitor and enemy. For instance, the Soviet Union was an adversary of the US during the cold war – not an enemy as they were not actually at war.
However, against that, this is better:
The United States considers space systems to have the rights of passage through and operations in space without interference. Consistent with this principle, the United States will view purposeful interference with its space systems as an infringement on its rights;
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