By Brian Weedon and Victoria Samson, Published by Scientific American, 14 January 2022 In November, Russia ignited an international uproar with a weapon test that launched an interceptor against a defunct military satellite. When it hit, that deliberate collision shattered the satellite into more than 1,500 trackable pieces of debris.
By Douglas Loverro, Brian G. Chow, Brandon W., Kelley, Brian Weedon and Robert Cardillo, Published by Aerospace Security, 11 January 2022 On the 15th anniversary of the first post-Cold War kinetic-energy ASAT test, it’s time for the U.S. to take a stance Over 70 years ago, two RAND researchers structured the
By Brett Tingley, Published by The Drive, 5 January 2022 The previously classified Starfire Optical Range aids astronomers while enabling the Space Force to better detect and track small objects in space. Previously classified adaptive optics technologies enabled the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) to capture an image of
By Theresa Hitchens, Pubished by Breaking Defense, 28 December 2021 US leaders this year faced difficult decisions against a backdrop of rapidly growing challenges from potential adversaries, and a booming commercial space sector that innovation-wise is leaving the Defense Department and the Intelligence Community in the dust. WASHINGTON: Saying it
By Theresa Hitchens, Published by Breaking Defense, 27 December 2021 Among all the space action over the past year, AFRL's push to expand military space operations to cislunar space — the vast volume of space between the Earth's outer orbit and that of the Moon — and beyond has been
By Tom O'Connor, Published by Newsweek, 14 December 2021 With China refusing to discuss efforts to limit its nuclear weapons arsenal on Earth, President Joe Biden's administration is hoping to pursue an arms control treaty in outer space involving the People's Republic. Washington and Beijing remain lightyears apart even on
By James Acton, Published by Defense One, 10 December 2021 Blowing up some satellites causes problems. Blowing up these could cause nuclear war. When Russia blew up an old satellite with a new missile on November 15, it created an expanding cloud of debris that will menace the outer space
By Theresa Hitchens, Published by Breaking Defense, 1 December 2021 Chiding Russia for its recent ASAT test, Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks said that "from the Defense Department's perspective, we would like to see all nations agree to refrain from anti-satellite weapons testing that creates debris." WASHINGTON: The Biden
