Killer satellites, blinding lasers, sophisticated jammers: the world’s military powers are quietly readying for a war in outer space – at the risk of fuelling a dangerous new arms race.
US military officials have in recent years sounded growing alarm about the potential vulnerabilities of their satellites, which underpin US military power.
Initially, the reserve of the United States and the Soviet Union, space has now become accessible to an ever-expanding multitude of nations and private firms.
And Moscow and Beijing are keen to show off their space-attack capabilities, a deep worry for US strategists.
“We are changing the culture in our space enterprise because we need to get our heads around... what happens if a conflict on Earth extends to space. How will we defend our assets?” Air Force secretary Deborah Lee James said at an event last month.
In 2015, the mysterious behaviour of a Russian satellite fuelled speculation about Moscow developing possible attack satellites, capable of manoeuvring through space and approaching a target.
Without warning or explanation, the craft positioned itself for several months between two Intelsat satellites in geostationary orbit, coming to within 10km of one, before eventually moving away again.
“Our satellites are crucial for our national security infrastructure,” said Victoria Samson of the Secure World Foundation, which works to develop the safe and sustainable use of space.
“The fact that another entity can come close to them and interfere with their work is very unsettling to US national security,” she added.
China, too, has demonstrated its ability to send a small, low-orbit satellite capable of manoeuvring toward another craft.
Teresa Hitchens, senior research scholar at the Center for International and Security Studies at the University of Maryland, said that China in 2013 launched three small satellites into orbit, one of which had a robotic grappling arm.
For the Pentagon and many US experts, it is clear America should speed up military efforts in space, and prevent its communications network from becoming the armed forces’ Achilles heel.
“The Department of Defence has aggressively moved out to develop responses that we see coming from China and Russia. I believe it’s essential that we go faster in our responses,” General John Hyten, head of the Air Force’s Space Command, told lawmakers in September.
The United States has since 2004 possessed a mobile jamming station which, from the ground, can block satellite communications.
America has already tested using a missile to blow up a satellite, and has recently acquired four satellites that can manoeuvre in orbit and inspect or monitor other space objects.
Space war could be devastating for humans, as a single exploded satellite would leave a trail of debris that in turn could damage other satellites in a chain reaction of destruction.
Viewpoint
