The USA is in a “new era” of space activity threats, warned General Chance Saltzman during the Space Symposium in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Saltzman is the US Space Force’s second chief of space operations.
Speaking to CNBC in an exclusive interview, Saltzman said that “the threats that we face to our on-orbit capabilities from our strategic competitors [have] grown substantially.”
He explained: “The congestion we’re seeing in space with tracked objects and the number of satellite payloads, and just the launches themselves, have grown at an exponential rate,” adding “I want to make sure that we are thinking about our processes and procedures differently.”
Saltzman further said that Russia and China “run the gamut, from the communications jamming of the GPS constellation; to lasers and ‘dazzlers’ that interfere with cameras on-orbit to prevent imagery collection; to anti-satellite missiles like the one Russia tested in late 2021.”
US threats in space
He said that US Space Force is seeing satellites that “grab” another satellite, “grapple with it and pull it out of its operational orbit,” adding that the mix of these weapons on-orbit today, along with the way they have been developed “are very concerning.”
According to Saltzman’s message, space is becoming more commercialised and that there are increasing geopolitical tensions that extend beyond Earth’s atmosphere, which means that rules of engagement are unclear.
The CNBC report said that military experts believe that space is likely to be the front line in future conflicts, which could impact civilians in real-time, including those in the private sector.
As a response to evolving threats and secure space assets quickly, Saltzman aims to “further augment the service’s capabilities to make satellite constellations more resilient and acquire more launch services by tapping into a burgeoning cadre of commercial space players,” the report said.
“This is a team sport and none of us is going to be successful going in alone,” Saltzman added.
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