Matter of fact, while the article states Russia and America have agreed not to attack each other satellites, it’s only half correct. Only America has suicidally abided by the agreement while Russia cheats as usual. Russia has within the last few years launched a space weapons program where satellites are designed and built to destroy American space-based systems. The following articles are proof enough:
Maneuvering Russian Satellite Has Everyone’s Attention
Whispers about Russia’s so-called ‘satellite killer’ grow louder
Object 2014-28E – Space junk or satellite killer? Russian ‘UFO’ intrigues astronomers
Moscow Could Be Prepping for Space War With Aggressive New Satellites
The Aug. 3 segment gave an interesting look at the command based at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado, as well as its subordinate units and its leaders, including Gen. John Hyten, whom we covered earlier this year at the annual Space Symposium.
Besides cool footage of the laser firing at the Starfire Optical Range in Albuquerque, New Mexico (the laser helps a telescope better track adversary satellites), the segment was noteworthy for its discussion of the possible coming war in space — and America’s limited ability to thwart attacks against its most prized spacecraft in geosynchronous orbit.Without assets in space to provide GPS coordinates to precision-guided bombs, imagery from drones and communication links to troops, among other advantages, “You go back to World War II. You go back to Industrial Age warfare,” Hyten told the CBS News program.
The U.S. has more than 500 satellites in space — more than any other country — and spends upwards of $25 billion a year on space, including intelligence and classified programs, according to the segment. Yet 11 countries can now launch objects into space, including North Korea and Iran, and China in particular has been developing anti-satellite technology, it reported.
The U.S. and Russia have long agreed to avoid attacking each other’s geosynchronous satellites, which orbit some 22,000 miles above Earth, maintain the same position in space relative to the planet’s surface and are critical for relaying everything from commercial television to military communications. The U.S. and China, however, don’t have a similar agreement.
Indeed, China in May 2013 secretly launched a ballistic missile to nearly geosynchronous orbit, possibly as high as 18,600 miles above Earth. Chinese officials defended the mission as a science experiment, but American analysts concluded it was really designed to test the potential of the anti-satellite missile Dong Ning-2. What’s more, later that year, a Chinese satellite reportedly used a robotic arm grabbed another satellite, a move that may be used to to service — or disable — another.
When Hyten was asked whether U.S. military satellites can maneuver to avoid an incoming missile, he told the program, “It depends on a huge number of variables … It depends on the satellite. It depends on the mission. It depends on when it was built. It depends on how old it is. It depends on when we know the threat is coming.”
Full article: A Coming War in Space? (Defense Tech)
Global Geopolitics 