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Space warfare is warfare that takes place in outer space. Technically as a distinct classification, it refers to battles where the targets themselves are in space. Space warfare therefore includes ground-to-space warfare, attacking satellites from the Earth, as well as space-to-space warfare, satellites attacking satellites. It does not include space-to-ground warfare, where satellites attack ground targets directly, or the indirect military use of satellites for espionage, surveillance, or military communications.
History
Early efforts to conduct space warfare were directed at space-to-space warfare, as ground-to-space systems were considered to be too slow and too isolated by Earth's atmosphere to be effective. The history of active space warfare development goes back to the 1960s when the Soviet Union began the Almaz project, a project designed to give them the ability to do on-orbit inspections of satellites and destroy them if needed. Similar planning in the United States took the form of the Blue Gemini project, which consisted of modified Gemini capsules that would be able to deploy weapons and perform surveillance.
One early test of electronic space-to-space warfare took place in 1963 when the United States exploded a nuclear weapon in space to test the effects of an electromagnetic pulse. The result was a deactivation of many then-orbiting satellites, both American and Soviet. The deleterious and unfocused effects of the EMP test led to the banning of nuclear weapons in space in the Outer Space Treaty of 1968.
Through the 1970s, the Soviet Union continued their project and even test fired a cannon to test space station defense.
Space warfare strongly influenced the final design of the United States Space Shuttle. The distinctive delta wing shape was needed if the shuttle were to launch a military payload towards the Soviet Union and perform an immediate de-orbit after one rotation to avoid being shot down. Draper, Alfred C.; Buck, Melvin L.; and Goesch, William H. "A Delta Shuttle Orbiter." Astronautics & Aeronautics. 9 (January 1971): 26-35.
Both the Soviets and the United States developed anti-satellite weaponry designed to shoot down satellites. While early efforts paralleled other space-to-space warfare concepts, the United States was able in the 1980s to develop ground-to-space laser anti-satellite weapons. None of these systems is known to be active today; however, a less powerful civilian version of the ground-to-space laser system is commonly used in the astronomical technique of adaptive optics.
Theoretical space weaponry
In the late 1970s and through the 1980s the Soviet Union and the United States theorised, designed and in some cases even tested an astonishing variety of bizarre and exotic weaponry designed for warfare in outer space. Space warfare was seen primarily as an extension of nuclear warfare, and so theoretical systems were based around the destruction or defense of ground and sea-based missiles. Space-based missiles were not a target due to the Outer Space Treaty, which banned the use, testing of or storage of nuclear weapons outside the Earth's atmosphere. Systems proposed ranged from measures as simple as ground and space-based anti-missiles to railguns, space based lasers, orbital mines and other such futuristic weaponry. Deployment of these systems was seriously considered in the mid-1980s under the banner of the Strategic Defense Initiative (popularly known as Star Wars). If the Cold War had continued, then many of these systems could have seen deployment: the United States got as far as developing working railguns, and a laser that could destroy missiles at range, though the power requirements of both were phenomenal, and the ranges and firing cycles utterly impractical.
Currently, military operations in space primarily concern the vast tactical advantages of surveillance, communications, and GPS satellites. Accordingly, most proposed spaceborne weapons are designed to jam, sabotage, and outright destroy enemy satellites, and conversely to protect friendly satellites against such attacks. To this end, the US (and presumably other countries) are researching groups of small, highly mobile satellites called "microsats" (about the size of a refridgerator) and "picosats" (about the size of a cube 1 ft (≈30 cm) to a side) nimble enough to maneuver around and interact with other orbiting objects (for repairs/sabotage, or simply to crash into them).
Kinetic bombardment entails a pair of satellites- a 'spotter' targets an enemy 'hard target' (such as a bunker) from orbit with high-power sensors, then directs a nearby 'magazine' to de-orbit a long, needle-like tungsten dart onto it with a small rocket motor. Despite the lack of an explosive payload, the kinetic energy of such a collision would obliterate just about anything far more effectively than any other armor-piercing munition.
Practical considerations
Space warfare that involves humans being deployed in space to fight each other is not currently practical. No infrastructure or economic interests exist at the moment to warrant the occupation of terrain on other terrestrial bodies within the Solar system, or to occupy orbital trajectories in outer space. The difficulty and cost of sustaining human life in space, especially over long periods of time, may also be a factor (especially as human adaptation to space is difficult).
References
- Hobbs, D (1986) "An Illustrated Guide to Space Warfare" Salamander Books Ltd. ISBN 0-86101-204-6
See also
- Joint Functional Component Command for Space and Global Strike (US Strategic Command)
- National Missile Defense
- Orbital bombardment
- Orbital weaponry
- Space weapon
External links
- Encyclopedia Astronautica's article on the Almaz
- "The Next Battlefield May Be in Outer Space," New York Times Magazine: August 5, 2001
"Space warfare"