U.S. Space Command is preparing for satellite-on-satellite combat

'Space to space, space to ground, ground to space' will all play a role in achieving the 'lethality that is necessary to achieve deterrence.'

This newsletter was brought to you by Sonder London. We like to hear from our readers. So if you have any feedback or story suggestions, get in touch. And thanks for reading.

---

Hello, and welcome to this week’s edition of The View from Space.

🛰️ The Economist describes this week how U.S. Space Command is getting ready for war in space:

‘Since 2015 there has been an eight-fold increase in Chinese satellite-launch activity. The People’s Liberation Army has become much better at operating in space, including conducting electronic warfare in orbit, he says, with China eclipsing Russia. China, Russia and India have tested destructive anti-satellite weapons in 2007, 2021 and 2022 respectively. America also accuses Russia of developing an orbital nuclear weapon that could destroy thousands of satellites in low-Earth orbit (LEO) at once.

A few years ago Space Command was wary of talking about its own offensive capabilities. Now it embraces the idea. “It’s time that we can clearly say that we need space fires, and we need weapon systems. We need orbital interceptors,” said General Whiting in April. “And what do we call these? We call these weapons.” He points to Mr Trump’s Golden Dome plan for a missile-defence shield, which includes space-based interceptors to destroy enemy missiles. In theory the same weapons could also target enemy satellites. “Space to space, space to ground, ground to space” would all play a role in achieving the “lethality that is necessary to achieve…deterrence,” says an official.

America’s allies are also becoming more open about this. In a defence review published this year, Britain said for the first time that it would develop anti-satellite weapons deployed on Earth and in orbit. America leads a small but tight-knit club of spacefaring allies. In Operation Olympic Defender, Space Command works with six countries—Australia, Britain, Canada, France, Germany and New Zealand—to “deter hostile acts in space”. In April the initiative reached “initial operational capability”, with all seven countries signing a joint campaign plan whose details will be finalised this summer.’

---

🛰️ In Euractive, Théophane Hartmann reports that non-E.U. countries such as the United Kingdom, Norway and Ukraine could yet join the E.U.'s secure communication satellite network IRIS²:

‘Aside from Norway, which is already in talks with the European Commission over joining the satellite network programme, neither Ukraine nor the United Kingdom have so far kicked off negotiations about signing up.

However, Ukraine has relied on Musk's SpaceX to provide telecommunications services for its military operations during its war against invading Russian forces, and there has been general disquiet about the level of dominance the Starlink constellation has in the space-enabled telecom market. That offers IRIS² – which is expected to cost €10.6 billion and be made up of around 280 satellites once it's online in the 2030s – an opportunity to snag market share.

“I would not be opposed," Kubilius said when asked if such non-EU countries could formally join the multi-billion euro space programme. The United Kingdom has a strong track record in space, while Ukraine holds significant potential having served as a key space hub during the Soviet era, Kubilius said.

---

🏆 Sonder London has been shortlisted by PRWeek for the Best Environmental Purpose Campaign of the Year award. The campaign related to our work supporting Kayrros, the world-leading energy and environmental intelligence firm whose geospatial tech has informed climate policy and changed the way the world thinks about methane. The overall winner will be announced on 15 October.

---

🇺🇸 In a LinkedIn post, former NASA boss Joe Rothenberg says the damage done to U.S. space by the Trump administration may be impossible to reverse:

‘ …what is happening at NASA has long term and potentially unrecoverable consequences to US scientific and technology leadership in not only Space but in technology that impacts our quality of life on Earth. Clearly the actions of the current Administration and NASA leadership have mortgaged America’s Space and Scientific Research capabilities, well beyond the point of being able to be recovered by any potential restoration of funding by Congress.

The Nations Space Program in its early days inspired career pursuits in Science and engineering, resulting in not only America’s leadership in Space, but in developing technology that has significantly improved medical, communications, and numerous quality of life applications.

America now faces the strong possibility of the reverse happening, the indiscriminate cuts in our Nations Scientific Research Program budgets, and Government and civilian workforce, will discourage the next generation from pursuing careers in engineering and sciences. The implications of which are not only loss of leadership in these areas, but also a signicant weakening of our economic and military leadership and a continued downward position of the US on the world stage.’

---

🪖 In a speech given at the Royal United Services Institute, U.K. Space Commander Major General Paul Tedman CBE, described in stark terms the threat of space conflict:

‘Space literally fuels our way of life and underpins our way of war.

This national dependency on space is increasingly being held at risk by space risks and threats. Risks include space weather and, of course, congestion: the dramatic reduction in launch costs have seen the democratisation of space. There are now over 80 space faring nations.

To bring the challenge to life for you: UK Space Command tracks about 45,000 objects in orbit, including about 9000 satellites. We have seen about 150 launches so far this year and 3 satellite or rocket bodies deorbit and re-enter the earth’s atmosphere daily.

The threat is also growing — in scale, in sophistication, and in speed. Over the past year, China has conducted close-proximity operations, deployed dual-use inspector satellites, and integrated kinetic, directed-energy, AI, and cyber tools into a formidable counterspace arsenal. There are now 20 counterspace systems in geostationary equatorial orbit (GEO), and over 200 in low earth orbit (LEO) — ready, rehearsed, and operational.

This is not an emerging threat — it is here, now, and active.’

---

🌍 In ESG Today, Pierre du Rostu, C.E.O. of AXA Digital Commercial Platform, explains how geospatial technology is enabling insurance to adapt to climate change:

‘Broadly speaking, there are two sides to how insurers must evolve. The first has to do with how it thinks about risk; the second has to do with how it deals with it. To take them in reverse order, insurers need to accept that if responding to and compensating for a disaster isn’t workable, then they must aim to prevent disaster happening instead.

That means embracing technology that paints a realistic, real-time picture of risk, and working much more closely with clients to prepare them for disaster and, where possible, avoid or mitigate it. Geospatial technology – tools that turn raw satellite imagery into actionable data – can now predict floods and fires with startling accuracy. Insurers should lean into these advances so they can keep their clients informed of the risks they face and advise them on how to reduce harm.’

---

🍿 And finally, NASA has released its trailer for the SpaceX Crew-11 Mission to the International Space Station: