The U.S., Russia and China are developing controversial new space weapons. Anti-satellite missile weapons are just a part of the worrisome arsenal for "star wars". A conflict in outer space might be closer than you think.
On Earth's orbit, an invisible arms race is unfolding toward a potential catastrophic conflict. Many of us would not expect that in the emptiness of outer space militaries to argue over contested territory. However, the outer space isn't as empty as you may think. Reports say that around 1,300 active satellites orbit the planet providing GPS navigation, worldwide communications, planetary surveillance and weather forecasting. Militaries of the superpowers also rely on some of those satellites. Space has become the ultimate ground for modern warfare.
The U.S. is still the undisputed superpower, but Russia and China aggressively seek to challenge the status quo and U.S. superiority in space. The both have ambitious military space programs of their own. A conflict could sparkle at any moment from this power struggle. The risks are great since a conflict in space could affect the entire planet's space-based infrastructure. Such conflict might begin in space but could easily ignite a full-blown war on Earth.
Due to several recent events the tensions are approaching now a boiling point. Among these events are included recent tests of anti-satellite weapons by Russia and China. To this is adding last month's failure of talks at the United Nations.
Earlier this year, James Clapper, Director of National Intelligence has testified before Congress, sharing the concerns held by many senior government officials. The growing threat to U.S. satellites by Russia and China has come to a crucial point since both countries are "developing capabilities to deny access in a conflict". For example, according to Mr. Clapper, a potential conflict might start over Russia's military activities in Ukraine or China's military activities in the South China Sea. In case of such conflict, China in particular, has demonstrated "the need to interfere with, damage and destroy" U.S. satellites, according to Mr. Clapper.
China started in 2007 a series of anti-satellite missile tests. However, there are various ways to destroy or disable satellites without to use missiles. For instance, a spacecraft could simply approach a satellite and astronauts manually snap off its communication antennas or spray paint over its optics. More sophisticated than that, lasers can permanently damage or temporarily disable a satellite's components, especially its delicate sensors. Microwaves and radio can hijack or jam communication with ground controllers.
The Obama administration, in response to these possible threats, has set a budget of at least $5 billion to be spent over the next five years. The funds will be used to enhance the defensive and offensive capabilities of the American military space program.
