Arms capable of damaging or disabling satellites are being built by countries all over the world, including China and Russia. According to a study released on February 26 by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, there isn’t anything that can be accomplished to halt the trend down, but these risks can be tackled with technology and strategies.
Defense Against the Dark Arts in Space: Defending Space Systems from the Counterspace Missiles, authored by CSIS experts Kaitlyn Johnson, Todd Harrison, and Makena Young, notes that “if space is to stay a source of the economic and strategic benefit, the United States must focus and facilitate its efforts to strengthen space defenses.” While the proliferation of rockets, lasers, jammers, as well as other anti-satellite devices has been well reported, Harrison believes that less has been said on how to protect against these risks.
“With this article, we decided to understand the other part of the equation. Yeah, we’re aware of the risks to space systems, so what are you going to do about it?” he stated. “It really certainly fit into Harry Potter concept,” he stated of the Harry Potter-centered title. If space risks are the dark elements, then protecting against the dark arts is exactly what this study is about.”
CSIS wanted to undertake this study as there hasn’t been much public conversation or discussion about what it requires to protect satellites, according to Harrison. He expressed concern that many government authorities and think tanks are saying that the “space is not defendable.” Some claim that the military does not rely on satellites as they are vulnerable. “So that is not the correct answer, and it’s also not a reasonable answer,” Harrison added. “We can’t all leave without a place to stay. What we need to do now is focus on fixing our vulnerabilities.”
Although the technologies and techniques used by the US government to protect space are still classified, Johnson noted that there was sufficient public knowledge from the commercial space industry and foreign governments to compile a 45-page report. The study covers a number of security systems that can be dispatched on satellites, as well as ways to build constellations to be more robust to disturbances.
Some key takeaways from the study include: There is a widespread misunderstanding that space has only recently become militarized. Since the dawn of the space age, space has become a battlefield. Since the 1960s, the Russians have had space-based orbital missiles. CSIS played out realistic scenarios on various types of conflicts that might begin or expand to space in workshops with space as well as national security experts. Wargaming will assist in the conceptualization of possible space defenses.
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