The recent announcement that the United States has “on-orbit space control weapons” has sent a shockwave through the space community. There have never been official weapons in space, bar a possible Soviet cannon mounted on the Salyut 3 Space Station. The announcement leaves more questions than answers; however, the message itself might be read as a throwing down of the gauntlet to other nations. A fear would be that these weapons are kinetic in nature and could cause space debris issues if a space war were to break out.
What could these weapons be?
The term “space control weapons” gives a slight clue as to what Air Force Secretary Troy Meink said on September 14. These are not Golden Dome Space-Based Interceptors (which were later mentioned) but something different; something that controls the military space ecosystem, whereas Golden Dome’s mission is to intercept hostile missiles. Further hints were reported by the BBC, citing a US Air Force spokesperson: “Space control encapsulates the mission areas required to contest and control the space domain – employing kinetic and non-kinetic means to affect adversary capabilities through disruption, degradation and even destruction, if necessary. These capabilities can be employed for offensive and defensive purposes at the direction of combatant commands.”
So, we have space control weapons that can be kinetic or non-kinetic. A kinetic weapon would pose a serious problem in terms of space debris if the weapon was used to destroy another satellite. More than likely, agreeing with Dr. Bleddyn Bowen quoted by the BBC, these are some sort of electronic warfare or radio jamming platform. Rather than destroy a satellite outright, disable it so it can no longer perform its mission.
These weapons in space might therefore be non-kinetic, but potential adversaries have used ASAT weapons in the past along with the United States. Anti-satellite weapons (ASATs) are not new but have become more prominent in the last decade. These are generally rockets or missiles with the sole purpose of destroying a satellite in orbit. These past tests have resulted in a large amount of space debris.
The Space Debris issue
Donald J. Kessler and Burton G. Cour-Palais stated in their paper Collision Frequency of Artificial Satellites: The Creation of a Debris Belt that “As the number of artificial satellites in Earth orbit increases, the probability of collisions between satellites also increases. Satellite collisions would produce orbiting fragments, each of which would increase the probability of further collisions, leading to the growth of a belt of debris around the Earth”. Today this is known as Kessler Syndrome.
Whether a satellite collides with another or is intentionally destroyed in orbit is not really the issue. Space debris is a serious problem, and although Kessler Syndrome is debated to some degree, having small pieces of destroyed spacecraft is not a desirable state for Low Earth Orbit. A recent Russian ASAT test forced Astronauts on the International Space Station to shelter, thus highlighting the issue. China has also caused space debris issues.
It is difficult to say what these new U.S. weapons are, whether kinetic or otherwise, but the fallout from using these weapons is somewhat predictable. If they are some sort of jamming spacecraft, then disabling a spacecraft might not be as detrimental as destroying one.
The 1967 Outer Space Treaty specifically forbids weapons of mass destruction in space, but this does not specifically forbid weapons that the US announced on Monday. Space is rapidly becoming a domain for warfare. Russia has likely intercepted the communications of various European satellites and has also performed maneuvers with American satellites for unknown reasons.
With the announcement of current US weapons in space, it remains to be seen what the nature of these new American assets is by design. In any case, putting weapons in space might create a new arms race with China and Russia. ASATs have long been the fear, but now that satellites might be disabled somehow without necessarily triggering Kessler Syndrome may incite China and Russia to do the same.
Carter Palmer has long held a keen interest in military matters and aviation. As an analyst for Industrial & Marine Turbine Forecast, Carter specializes in examining key gas turbine programs for electrical power generation, mechanical drive, and marine propulsion applications. He is also responsible for updating the reports and analyses within the Space Systems Forecast – Launch Vehicles & Manned Platforms and Space Systems Forecast – Satellites & Spacecraft products.
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