APOGEE STAFF With their growing reliance on outer space to ensure national security, the U.S. and its allies are turning to the commercial space sector for its speed, innovation and flexibility. One result: Adversaries are viewing the space-based systems that enable communications, observation and other facets of civilian life as military targets, making the protection of these “dual-use” assets a top defense priority. The war on Ukraine has added urgency to the effort. The day that Russian tanks first rolled in, a cyberattack targeted satellite internet provided by U.S.-based Viasat, blocking service for up to two weeks for tens of…
Author: Apogee
APOGEE STAFF Japan has added to its space surveillance network with the launch of a satellite that monitors North Korean missile sites and natural disasters. The satellite was lifted into low Earth orbit in January 2024 on a Japanese H-2A rocket from Tanegashima Space Center, according to a news release from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., which co-developed the rocket with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. Japan operates six surveillance satellites and is in the process of replacing the H-2A, its workhorse of two decades, with the more cost-efficient H3. The H3 was successfully test-launched in February 2024 after a failed inaugural…
APOGEE STAFF Poland said it will orbit its first military observation satellites in 2025, one in a number of moves to strengthen the NATO nation’s Army in response to the invasion of neighboring Ukraine by Russia. The series of new satellites will feature radar and optical technology from both foreign and domestic sources, Cezary Tomczyk, Poland’s deputy defense minister, said during a February 2024 news briefing reported by Reuters. Other plans include establishing a Polish space force. The news came 14 months after Poland announced it would obtain from France two high-resolution Earth observation satellites to help its armed forces…
APOGEE STAFF Spain aims to declare its new space command operational by February 2025, streamlining its space defense collaboration and training with allies France, Germany and the United States, as well as with NATO and European Union space agencies. A news release on the timeline from the Ministry of Defence said, “collaboration is essential, both now and in the future.” The new agency, Mando del Espacio or MEPSA, was activated in January 2024 as part of the Spanish Air and Space Force during a visit to its new headquarters by Spain’s Defence Minister Margarita Robles. MEPSA is based at Torrejón…
APOGEE STAFF The United Kingdom Space Command is expanding its space training and education with the opening of a new U.K. Space Academy for defense personnel as well as students from industry, academia and international partners. The Space Academy, declared operational in September 2023, will now be housed in a building to be redeveloped at the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom, near the village of Shrivenham southwest of Oxford. The building is adjacent to the Defence Cyber Academy, enabling both academies to share facilities and training expertise. The Defence Academy, part of Strategic Command within the Ministry of Defence,…
APOGEE STAFF The United States military and its allies are counting on dynamic space operations to fill a critical role as they keep tabs on strategic competitors, including the People’s Republic of China (PRC), but getting there will mean changes in how satellites are made and operated. Working with aerospace industry partners, U.S. Space Command (USSPACECOM) and the Space Force are determined to see the transformation through, possibly by 2030. A number of companies have already stepped up with potential solutions. USSPACECOM hosted 40 companies at an industry day on the issue in February 2023. Likewise, the concept of space…
Apogee Staff For nearly six decades, the Outer Space Treaty of 1967 has helped prevent a nuclear arms race beyond Earth’s atmosphere. The Soviet Union — like 114 other countries including the United States — signed the agreement, which was negotiated under the auspices of the United Nations and prohibits nuclear weapons in space. But fearing that Russia is now in the development stages of placing an anti-satellite nuclear weapon in orbit, Japan and the U.S. put forth a U.N. resolution that reaffirmed the ban on nuclear weapons on orbit, prompting the Russians to veto it at a U.N. Security…
APOGEE STAFF Keeping pace with the unique safety needs presented by the U.S. Space Force is one of six goals established in the new Safety Strategic Plan developed by the Air Force Safety Center. The plan was released in April 2024 through the center’s headquarters at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It covers the period 2024-2027. Goal No. 3, according to a new release from the center: “Evolve Support to the Space Enterprise.” This includes developing a plan of action and milestones, determining authorities for overseeing space safety within the Air Force and the Defense Department, and…
APOGEE STAFF California’s congressional delegation is nudging the governor to finish the work of his Space Industry Task Force so the state can reap more of the economic benefits that Florida and Texas have enjoyed by establishing space economic development agencies. In a March 15, 2024, letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom, signed by 41 of California’s 52-member congressional delegation, the authors spell out their state’s many existing “space equities,” saying, “We appreciate your efforts to position California to attract existing companies in this industry, and the countless that will form in the coming years and support continuing efforts to build…
APOGEE STAFF Breaking down walls that hamper interoperability between the military and its commercial partners is one goal established by the U.S. Department of Defense in its first Commercial Space Integration Strategy, released in April 2024. As the People’s Republic of China ramps up its space defense capabilities, the current U.S. National Defense Strategy directs the military to make greater use of commerce for its technological innovation and speed. Among areas where private industry is leading the way in space operations are launch, space situational awareness and Earth imaging. The Pentagon’s new commercial space strategy calls for integrating commercial solutions…