Weaponizing Space and the Emerging Space Warfare Arms Race

Satellites Jamming, Hijacking, Space SIGINT, Space Kill Vehicles are just the tip of the iceberg in the ongoing weaponization of Space. In previous posts "Who needs nuclear weapons anymore?", "EMP warfare - Electronic Domination in Reverse", and "Is a Space Warfare arms race really comming?" I expressed my opinion on the current and emerging efforts to install and experiment with space weapons, and mostly emphasized on the major problem - the arms race fear itself. What's also worth mentioning is how the original anti-missile defense system Star Wars, transformed from a defensive, to an offensive tool for warfare. SFAM at the CyberpunkReview.com made a good comment :

"Weaponizing space when there really isn't any competitor is a really bad idea. Truly though, the issue that obfuscates things is the US military's change from a threat-based acquisition system (where weapon systems were acquired to combat specific and verifyable threats) to a capability-based acquisition system is the problem. The switch to a capability-based system, being divorced from threats (since the Wall fell, most of the threats did as well), can find justification for new weapon systems even if there isn't a verifyable enemy or even a proven, irreplaceable need in warfare for the technology. Case in point - nobody is challenging the US for air surpremacy, yet we have massively expensive acquisitions underway for the F-22 (which should have been killed in 1991) and the F-35 (Joint Strike Fighter)."

Just came across to a great initiative aiming to act as a faciliator for debating the problem. The SpaceDebate.org aims to :

"expand the debate on the weaponization of space through a collaborative wiki-like tool for structured debate on a topic. You can learn more by taking the quick tour, reading the about page, or browsing our frequently asked questions. You can also jump into the debate by browsing our argument list or one of the positions"

I feel there's a more serious problem we should be discussing for the time being compared to the world's super powers waging wars in space, and it's called Near Earth Object Protection -- there's even a distributed client for tracking the hazard posed by NEOs. For instance, consider the following alternatives for combating the real threat in space - the universe itself :

"There’s been no shortage of ideas how to fend off unfriendly fire from the cosmos: laser beams, space tugboats, gravity tractor, and solar sails for example, as well as using powerful anti-NEO bombs, conventional as well as nuclear. Ailor, also Director of The Aerospace Corporation’s Center for Orbital and Reentry Debris Studies, told SPACE.com that creative ways to deflect Earth-harming NEOs are far from being exhausted. People have put a lot of concepts on the table over time, Ailor said. Now we’re beginning to try and develop an organized way of looking at those things and finding out which ones are really viable in the short-term, medium-term, and what technologies do we need to protect and develop for the long-term as well."

I've always thought the human race is an experiment of a super intelligent race trying to figure out how long it's gonna take us to self-destroy our kind. In case you're interested in the current situation on space warfare, you can also go through the Space Security 2006 book (111 pages), and previous editions as well. An excerpt from the executive summary :

"A growing number of states, led by China, Russia, the US, and key European states, increasingly emphasize the use of space systems to support national security. Dependence on these systems has led several states to view space assets as critical national security infrastructure. US military space doctrine has also begun to focus on the need for “counterspace operations” to prevent adversaries from accessing space. Building on existing trends, in 2005 actors that included the EU, India, Israel, and Japan placed more emphasis on the national security applications of space. Israel and Japan introduced plans to boost surveillance capabilities from space. India’s Air Force urged the government to set up a Strategic Aerospace Command to better develop military space capabilities."

Don't look for enemies where there aren't still any, but deal with the real space threat. Camouflage, Concealment, and Deception (CC&D) techniques table courtesy of FAS's "Threats to United States Space Capabilities"

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