"When the Space Shuttle flew its 135th and final
mission in July and retired without a direct
replacement, some critics accused Washington
of abandoning America’s 50-year orbital legacy.
The Telegraph even called it a “retreat.”

Then last week, the U.S. government revealed
new and formerly secret space initiatives that
underscore America’s continuing orbital
dominance. NASA announced plans for the
biggest-ever rocket, set to launch in six years.
Meanwhile, the hush-hush National
Reconnaissance Office (NRO), keeper of
America’s most secretive surveillance
satellites, used the occasion of its 50th
birthday to declassify its ongoing orbital
eavesdropping campaign over Afghanistan."

See:

http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011...e-war-arsenal/