World War Three In Space? Fears Over Rise In Anti-Satellite Weapons Created By Russia
August 14, 2015
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Around
1,300 active satellites cloak the Earth in a crowded nest of orbits,
providing world-wide communication, GPS navigation, weather forecasting
and planetary surveillance.
However, experts have now expressed fears that our and our governments increasing reliance on satellites will spark acts of space aggression.
If that were to escalate into a full-blown conflict between world powers, it would cripple the entire planet's space-based infrastructure and potentially lead to a global war on Earth.
The United States remains the undisputed dominant power in space, but Russia and China are aggressively seeking to challenge the country's superiority with space programmes of their own.
James Clapper, the US director of national intelligence, stressed his concerns as he accused Russia and China of "developing capabilities" to take out American satellites.
The United States remains the undisputed dominant power in space, but Russia and China are aggressively seeking to challenge the country's superiority with space programmes of their own
He said China in particular, had demonstrated the "need to interfere with, damage, and destroy" US satellites, referring to a series of Chinese anti-satellite missile tests that began in 2007.
No satellites were destroyed but that was because Beijing was "testing to miss rather than hit".
According to a report in Scientific American, there are many ways to disable and destroy satellites beyond blowing them up, making them extremely vulnerable to attack.
A spaceship could simply spray paint over the optics of a satellite, snap off its communications antennas or destabilise its orbit.
Lasers have also been created to temporarily disable or permanently damage a satellite's components in space from Earth.
Military transmissions to flashpoint areas such as the South China Sea or Ukraine via satellite could also be jammed by malicious actions.
In response to the threat, President Barack Obama has budgeted at least $5billion (£3.2bn) to be spent over the next year to enhance both the defensive and offensive capabilities of the US military space programme.
However, experts have now expressed fears that our and our governments increasing reliance on satellites will spark acts of space aggression.
If that were to escalate into a full-blown conflict between world powers, it would cripple the entire planet's space-based infrastructure and potentially lead to a global war on Earth.
The United States remains the undisputed dominant power in space, but Russia and China are aggressively seeking to challenge the country's superiority with space programmes of their own.
James Clapper, the US director of national intelligence, stressed his concerns as he accused Russia and China of "developing capabilities" to take out American satellites.
The United States remains the undisputed dominant power in space, but Russia and China are aggressively seeking to challenge the country's superiority with space programmes of their own
He said China in particular, had demonstrated the "need to interfere with, damage, and destroy" US satellites, referring to a series of Chinese anti-satellite missile tests that began in 2007.
No satellites were destroyed but that was because Beijing was "testing to miss rather than hit".
According to a report in Scientific American, there are many ways to disable and destroy satellites beyond blowing them up, making them extremely vulnerable to attack.
A spaceship could simply spray paint over the optics of a satellite, snap off its communications antennas or destabilise its orbit.
Lasers have also been created to temporarily disable or permanently damage a satellite's components in space from Earth.
Military transmissions to flashpoint areas such as the South China Sea or Ukraine via satellite could also be jammed by malicious actions.
In response to the threat, President Barack Obama has budgeted at least $5billion (£3.2bn) to be spent over the next year to enhance both the defensive and offensive capabilities of the US military space programme.
Read more at http://www.prophecynewswatch.com/2015/August14/143.html#7aaeTVvM1Sq8UTmt.99
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