I am talking about the real thing, not the movie. China, Russia and the U.S. are developing and testing controversial new capabilities to wage war in space.
War in Space May Be Closer Than Ever
“Offensive space control” is a clear reference to weapons. “Active defense” is much more nebulous, and refers to undefined offensive countermeasures that could be taken against an attacker, further widening the routes by which space might soon become weaponized. If an imminent threat is perceived, a satellite or its operators might preemptively attack via dazzling lasers, jamming microwaves, kinetic bombardment or any other number of possible methods.
Given human species track record, I would imagine the above becomes just a matter of time.
“We are in the process of messing up space, and most people don’t realize it because we can’t see it the way we can see fish kills, algal blooms, or acid rain,” he says. “To avoid trashing Earth orbit, we need a sense of urgency that currently no one has. Maybe we’ll get it when we can’t get our satellite television and our telecommunications, our global weather reports and hurricane predictions. Maybe when we get knocked back to the 1950s, we’ll get it. But by then it will be too late.”
Another worthless data point to worry about? Yes and no. Should a serious conflict between Russia/China and the US/NATO develop over the next 15-20 years, something I anticipated, expect most satellites to become targets. As 60 Minutes episode last year showed, China already has the capability to shoot down our satellites (I am sure Russia does as well). Even the deep space ones.
As for me, I continue to be amazed with the fact that the human race is working overtime on trying to destroy itself. The problem is, we now have the technology and the capability to do just that.
