– By Paranjay Sharma
Introduction
The Cold War ushered in a new era of political, scientific, and technological achievements known as the Space Age. The Space Age saw the rapid development of aeronautical capabilities, including artificial satellites, unmanned space probes, and human spaceflight, between the United States and the Soviet Union. Nevertheless, a space race spawned by the Cold War is still afoot.
With developments in technology, the concept of the battlefield has been altered, and there is mounting evidence that space is being used to demonstrate space power and security. During peace and war, space has evolved into an all-encompassing domain capable of molding, modifying, synchronizing, coordinating, controlling, and monitoring communication and surveillance. In recent years, several countries, most notably the United States, Russia, and China, have made significant investments in offensive-defensive counter-space capabilities.
The fact that many states are developing and testing anti-satellite weapons (ASATs) has triggered an escalating loop that threatens to pave the way for the weaponization of space and, eventually, its transformation into a battlefield.
Anti-Satellite Weapons: A Conceptual Understanding
As per the ‘Space Dossier’, a series of reports on outer space security by the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR), ASATs are any capabilities aimed at destroying or disabling space assets for any reason, whether military or civilian, offensive, or defensive.
ASATs can be used in a variety of ways. For instance, kinetic energy ASATs (KE-ASATs) destroy satellites by colliding with them at high speeds. Ballistic missiles, drones that drag an object out of orbit or detonate explosives near the object, and any item launched to coincide with the passage of a target satellite are all examples of KE-ASATs. This means that any space asset, including a communications satellite, might be used to destroy another space object and become an ASAT physically.
Non-kinetic ASATs, on the other hand, use any non-physical means to disable a satellite, such as using lasers to blind satellites, launching cyberattacks, or jamming frequencies. These approaches can likewise render an object worthless without causing the target to break up and split and does not require any physical force to cripple them.
Other ASAT capabilities include cyber-attacks on space system assets, Electro-Magnetic Pulse (EMP) explosion devices, directed energy (laser-based) weapons and co-orbital ASATs.
Space Mayhem: A Look at Space Warfare Capabilities of Nations
Since the early years of the Cold War, the US and the Soviet Union have been experimenting with offensive space weapons. However, it has only been in the last 10-15 years that the projection of space power has grown to the point that the vulnerability of vital space-based assets and the potential for space as a warfighting domain has climbed to the top of the national security agenda of every nation.
The earliest ASAT testing began during the Cold War when the Soviet Union launched its first satellite, Sputnik, in October 1957. In response, the United States created the ‘Bold Orion’ or Weapons System 199 (WS-199B) – the first successful demonstration of an ASAT. The Soviet Union replied with its own ASAT programme, creating co-orbital weaponry in the 1960s and 1970s. As time went by, technological prowess enabled these nations to develop razor-sharp KE-ASATs and Non-Kinetic ASATs to sabotage enemies’ space-bound targets.
Here is a picture of ASAT weapons in the hands of the leading spacefaring nations:
- United States:
In October 1959, the United States conducted its first anti-satellite test termed the ‘Bold Orion’. A developmental Air-Launched Ballistic Missile (ALBM) was carried by a US Air Force B-47 bomber and was fired at an Explorer VI satellite. The United States further developed space-borne weapons and conducted various tests to bolster their ASAT capability.
- The 1960s – In the early sixties, the US tested the Nike-Zeus missile as the first US direct-ascent ASAT development program, designated Programme 505. It used a ground ballistic missile tipped with a nuclear warhead. Later, the Department of Defense approved developing the second direct-ascent system, the Air Force Thor missiles, designated Program 437. This gave it the capacity to reach satellites at higher altitudes, perhaps 400 miles, than Zeus, which could only reach satellites at 100-150 miles.
- The 1980s – In the eighties, the US announced the new generation ASAT weapon. The idea was that in a high-speed impact, the missile would rise to a target satellite in low earth orbit and kill or disable it. In 1985, the US demonstrated its space power with an F-15 fighter firing an ASM-135 missile to destroy a satellite used for solar observation.
- The 2000s – In 2008, a RIM 161 Standard Missile 3 was fired from the Aegis class cruiser by the US Navy to destroy the malfunctioning US spy satellite USA-193. The operation was termed “Burnt Frost” and was the last known ASAT test by the US.
- Russia:
The erstwhile Soviet Union relied on co-orbital ASAT weapons. This entailed sending a ‘killer satellite’ into the same orbit as its intended target and approaching it for destruction. In 1963, the Soviet Union officially announced Polyot-1. After the successful initial launch in November 1963, Soviet killer satellites were tested in secret for the rest of the 1960s.
- 1970-90s – The Soviet Union in the seventies launched the ‘Istrebitel Sputnikov’ anti-satellite weapons programme, wherein the killer satellite consisted of a kill vehicle and a launch vehicle based on an ICBM (R-36). However, in the eighties, the programme slowed down. Yet, the engineers kept working on enhancements of the operating killer satellites and much larger and more terrifying projects, including terrifying ideas to use orbital combat stations and even laser weaponry. In 1993, Boris Yeltsin pulled the plug off the programme, marking the end of the killer satellites.
- 2000s – In the 2000s, the Russian anti-satellite programme showed indications of life once more. On 18th November 2015, several open sources reported the testing of the new Russian ASAT missile called Nudol, which operates as a direct ascent missile system to take on target satellites in kinetic kill mode. Recently, Russia executed a direct-ascent anti-satellite (DA-ASAT) test on 15th November 2021, destroying one of its space objects in low-earth orbit, a defunct satellite. The test drew worldwide attention and was widely criticized as dangerous and irresponsible because of the produced uncontrollable debris. The PL-19 Nudol system was used in the demonstration, an anti-ballistic missile interceptor that can also be employed as a direct-ascent anti-satellite weapon.
- China:
According to open sources, China is building its ASAT capabilities fastest among the major spacefaring nations. According to reports, Chinese ASAT weapons have been developing since 1964 (Programme 640). The Chinese military conducted the first such KE-ASAT test on 11th January 2007, wherein an SC 19 missile was launched, destroying the Fengyun-1C (FY-1C) weather satellite.
The Dong Neng 2 (DN -2) ASAT interceptor test, which took place in May 2013, caused quite a stir internationally. It was described as an ASAT system capable of entering deep space and threatening target satellites over various analysts’ entire altitude range of geo-centric orbits. Later, in 2018 the Chinese also conducted the Dong Neng-3 hit-to-kill midcourse interceptor test, which experts said could also act as an ASAT platform.
Reportedly, China is also developing its soft-kill capability (high power lasers and microwave weapons) and microsatellites to advance its ASAT programme.
- India:
India has built its ASAT capabilities and conducted a successful ASAT test under the Mission Shakti initiative in March 2019. The test involved sending a ballistic missile to destroy an Indian satellite (Mircorsat-R) in low earth orbit (LEO). The KE-ASAT missile destroyed the satellite in under three minutes rather than causing a warhead-induced explosion due to the sheer impact of the collision. India has converted its Prithvi Defense Vehicle Mark-II missile defence interceptor into an ASAT weapon, making it the fourth country to demonstrate direct ascent kinetic kill capabilities.
India’s Mission Shakti has undoubtedly catapulted India into an elite four of countries with ASAT capabilities, cementing it as a prominent player in space and enhancing its deterrence posture. While this ASAT test is not an exception, it does offer a ray of optimism for India’s future strategic path in establishing its space power.
Conclusion
No weapons have yet been deployed in space. The US, Russia, China & India have demonstrated razor-sharp anti-satellite capabilities and are actively spending funds in bolstering their offensive-defensive capabilities in space. The rapid militarization of space does, however, pose a threat to the whole of humankind. If we keep moving at this current rate, a world without communications, smartphones, navigation, internet, GPS, global connect, planetary data sharing, and more may be closer than we think. The need of the hour is to ensure a responsible and safe ecosystem for space exploration and unrestricted access to a peaceful space for future generations. It is critical to revive the concept of space as a global commons for humanity’s overall well-being.
References :
A History of Anti-Satellite Programs by Laura Grego, Union of Concerned Scientists, Available at: https://www.ucsusa.org/sites/default/files/2019-09/a-history-of-ASAT-programs_lo-res.pdf
Anti-Satellite Weapons and the Emerging Space Arms Race by Talia M. Blatt, Harvard International Review, Available at: https://hir.harvard.edu/anti-satellite-weapons-and-the-emerging-space-arms-race/
Anti-Satellite Weapons: A Likely Future Trajectory by Lt Gen (Dr) Vijay Kumar Saxena (Retd), PVSM, AVSM, VSM, Vivekananda International Foundation, Available at: https://www.vifindia.org/sites/default/files/anti-satellite-weapons-a-likely-future-trajectory.pdf
Space Power and Space Warfare: A Review by Pranav R Satyanath, Takshashila Review Paper, Available at: https://takshashila.org.in/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/TRP-Space_Power_Warfare-PRS-2019-02-1.pdf
Weaponisation and Militarisation of Space by PN Tripathi, CLAWS Winter Journal 2013, Available at: https://indianarmy.nic.in/WriteReadData/Documents/Weaponisation.pdf
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