Exclusive
Status: 05/02/2022 03:04
Satellites are valuable tools in war and therefore military targets. The United States has now called on other countries to stop testing anti-satellite missiles – and warn of the damage.
You can still apply. The Federal Intelligence Service (BND) is urgently looking for “satellite and aerial image analysts”. You should have studied geosciences, have a good knowledge of English and have a “strong ability to work conceptually and analytically”, according to the job advertisement. The application period runs until the end of June.
Satellites are an important tool for secret services and the military. They are not only used for communication, they also provide valuable information through high-resolution images from space – in times of peace and especially in times of war, as is currently the case in Ukraine. For example, satellites are used to track Russian troop movements, analyze the weapon systems used and even collect evidence of war crimes.
growing importance
The “flying eyes” in Earth orbit are therefore also potential military targets. Several countries, including the USA, most recently China, India and Russia, have developed missiles that can be used to destroy enemy satellites. The announcement by US Vice President Kamala Harris last week was all the more astonishing.
During a visit to Vandenberg Space Force Base, a US air force base on the California coast, on Easter Monday, Harris spoke about the growing importance of space and satellite reconnaissance.
Harris surprisingly promised: “I’m pleased to announce that starting today, the United States has committed not to conduct any destructive anti-satellite missile tests.” Such tests are “dangerous, reckless and irresponsible,” said the Vice President, and they would endanger “so much of what we do in space.”
China and Russia conducted tests
In 2007, China tested a satellite with a rocket, and in November 2021 Russia also carried out such a test. The Russian missile system PL-19 Nudol, which was shot down from Earth, destroyed the satellite Cosmos-1408, which weighed around 2.2 tons, at an altitude of around 480 kilometers.
According to the US authorities, countless pieces of wreckage are said to have arisen in both cases, which are still in orbit today. According to the Russian test, there are said to be more than 1,600 parts, and there are still around 2,800 parts from the Chinese test 15 years ago.
Space debris carries risks
This space junk poses a significant threat to satellites, other flying objects and even the International Space Station (ISS). According to experts, pieces of wreckage even a few centimeters in size can cause major damage if they hit other objects at high speed. In addition, such fragments of debris, which can even be multiplied by impact, sometimes remain in orbit for months, years or even decades.
Last November, when Russia tested its anti-satellite missile, the International Space Station was put on alert. An American astronaut even had to temporarily go into an escape pod – in case the station was hit by debris from the satellite or the rocket.
The International Space Station has had to make 29 maneuvers to avoid debris in space since 1999, according to NASA. The last time this happened was in 2020, when debris from the 2007 Chinese anti-satellite test flew towards the station.
Increase in satellite systems
Space debris poses a serious risk, especially in view of the growing number of satellites that are now being used not only by states but also by private companies. Numerous services are dependent on GPS data, for example.
The entrepreneur Elon Musk operates the Starlink satellite network with his company SpaceX, which is intended to enable global Internet access, and the US company Amazon is planning a similar network with more than 3,000 of its own satellites.
Wind turbines are also partly controlled via satellite systems, as recently became clear from an incident in connection with the war against Ukraine: At the beginning of the war of aggression, suspected Russian hackers attacked Viasat’s commercial satellite network Ka-Sat 9A, which was operated by the Ukrainian military, among others and used by the police. The hackers used malware that destroyed data. Tens of thousands of modems lost contact with the Viasat network.
Enercon, the largest German manufacturer of wind turbines, was also hit more as collateral damage. Around 5,800 of the company’s wind turbines continued to run, but they could no longer be monitored or maintained online.
Harris calls for international rules on conduct in space
In her speech at the military base in California, US Vice President Harris not only called on other states to also refrain from dangerous anti-satellite tests in the future. She explained that the US government is in principle in favor of an international set of rules for the behavior of states, a “code of conduct” in space.
Since 1967 there is the so-called “Space Treaty”, which is intended to regulate the activities of states and the exploration of space. In addition, the agreement, which has now been signed by 110 countries, is intended to prevent planets from being occupied and annexed by certain countries. In addition, no military bases should be set up in space or nuclear weapons stationed.
However, the contract has not yet been updated or supplemented, for example with a passage prohibiting the use of anti-satellite weapons. And one too European Union (EU) initiative for rules of conduct in space was not pursued further.