Washington – As Russia held its Victory Day parade this year, hackers supporting the Kremlin hijacked a circular satellite that provides television services to Ukraine.
Instead of regular programming, Ukrainian viewers saw footage of a parade beamed from Moscow: waves of tanks, soldiers, and weapons. The message was intended to intimidate, and it was also an illustration that 21st-century warfare is not only fought on land, sea , and air, but also in cyberspace and the reaches of space.
Disabling a satellite could deal a devastating blow without a single bullet, and could be done by targeting the satellite’s security software or disrupting its ability to send or receive signals from Earth.
“If you can disrupt a satellite’s ability to communicate, you can cause significant disruption,” said Tom Pace, CEO of Netrise, a cybersecurity firm focused on protecting supply chains. He served in the Navy before working on cyber issues at the Energy Department.
“Think about GPS,” he said. “Imagine if the population lost it and the confusion that would create.”
More than 12,000 operational satellites now orbit the planet, playing critical roles not only in broadcast communications but also in military operations, navigation systems like GPS, intelligence gathering, and economic supply chains. They are also key to early launch detection efforts that can warn of approaching missiles.
This makes them a significant national security vulnerability and a prime target for anyone looking to undermine an adversary’s economy or military readiness, or to deliver a psychological blow, such as the hackers who were supported by Russia when they hijacked television signals for Ukraine.
Hackers typically look for the weakest link in the software or hardware that supports a satellite or controls its communications with Earth. The actual orbiting device may be secure, but if it’s running outdated software, it can be easily exploited.
As Russian forces invaded Ukraine in 2022, someone targeted the US-based satellite company Viasat, which is used by the Ukrainian government and military. The hack, which Kiev blamed on malware used by Moscow, infected tens of thousands of modems, creating an outage affecting vast swaths of Europe.
National security officials say Russia is developing a nuclear, space-based weapon designed to take out virtually every satellite in low-Earth orbit at once. The weapon would combine a physical attack that would roll outward, destroying more satellites, while a nuclear component is used to fry their electronics.
U.S. officials declassified information about the weapon after Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, issued a public warning about the technology. Turner has urged the Defense Department to provide a classified briefing to lawmakers about the weapon, which, if deployed, would violate the international Treaty on the Prohibition of Weapons of Mass Destruction in Outer Space.
Turner said such a weapon could render low-Earth orbit satellites unusable for as long as a year. If deployed, the impact would be devastating: potentially leaving the United States and its allies vulnerable to economic disruption and even nuclear attack.
Russia and China would also lose satellites, although they are thought to be less dependent on the same type of satellites as the US.
Tērners salīdzināja ieroci, kas vēl nav gatavs izvietošanai, ar Krievijas satelītu Sputnik, kas 1957. gadā uzsāka kosmosa laikmetu.
“Ja šis pretsatellīta kodolieročs tiktu ievietots kosmosā, tas būtu kosmosa laikmeta beigas,” sacīja Tērners. “Nekad nevajadzētu ļaut iedziļināties kosmosā. Tā ir Kubas raķešu krīze kosmosā.”
Vērtīgi minerāli un citi materiāli, kas atrodami uz Mēness un asteroīdiem, varētu izraisīt turpmākus konfliktus, jo tautas vēlas izmantot jaunas tehnoloģijas un enerģijas avotus.
NASA administrators Šons Duffijs šomēnes paziņoja par plāniem nosūtīt nelielu kodolreaktoru uz Mēnesi, sakot, ka ir svarīgi, lai ASV to darītu pirms Ķīnas vai Krievijas.
“Mēs esam sacensībās uz Mēnesi, sacīkstēs ar Ķīnu uz Mēnesi,” sacīja Duffy. “Lai būtu bāze uz Mēness, mums ir nepieciešama enerģija un dažas no galvenajām vietām uz Mēness. … Mēs vēlamies tur nokļūt vispirms un apgalvot, ka to Amerikai.”
Mēness ir bagāts ar materiālu, kas pazīstams kā Hēlijs 3, kuru zinātnieki uzskata, ka varētu izmantot kodolizlusijā, lai radītu milzīgu enerģijas daudzumu. Kamēr šī tehnoloģija joprojām atrodas gadu desmitu attālumā, kontrole pār mēness gadiem varētu noteikt, kuras valstis kļūst par lielvalstīm, sacīja Londonā bāzēts kiberdrošības eksperts Džozefs Rokss, kurš ir strādājis Apvienotās Karalistes aizsardzības nozarē un tagad ir Riska ieskatu direktors firmā, kas reģistrēts nākotnē.
Aukstā kara beigas uz laiku apturēja daudz ieguldījumu kosmosā, bet, visticamāk, palielināsies konkurence, jo solījums Mēness ieguvei kļūst par realitāti.
“Tas nav sci-fi. Tā ātri kļūst par realitāti,” sacīja Roks. “Ja jūs dominējat Zemes enerģijas vajadzības, tā ir spēle.”
Ķīna un Krievija nākamajos gados ir paziņojuši par saviem atomelektrostacijām uz Mēness, kamēr ASV plāno misijas uz Mēnesi un Marsu. Mākslīgais intelekts iespējams, paātrinās konkurenci, tāpat kā pieprasījums pēc enerģijas, kas nepieciešama AI.
Ziņojumi, kas palikuši ar Krievijas vēstniecību Vašingtonā, netika atgriezti.
Neskatoties uz to, ka tā ir iekļuvusi kosmosā, Ķīna iebilst pret jebkuru ārpuszemes bruņošanās sacīkstēm, sacīja Liu Pengyu, Ķīnas vēstniecības Vašingtonas pārstāvis. Viņš sacīja, ka tieši ASV draud militarizēt galīgo robežu.
“Tas ir turpinājis paplašināt militāro spēku kosmosā, radījis kosmosa militārās alianses un mēģinājis pārvērst telpu par kara zonu,” sacīja Liu. “Ķīna mudina ASV pārtraukt izplatīties bezatbildīgā retorikā, pārtraukt militārā uzkrāšanās paplašināšanu kosmosā un dot pienācīgu ieguldījumu ilgstošā miera un drošības uzturēšanai kosmosā.”
Nācijas cenšas izveidot savas raķešu un kosmosa programmas, lai izmantotu komerciālās izredzes un nodrošinātu, ka tās nav atkarīgas no ārvalstu satelītiem. Tas ir dārgs un grūts piedāvājums, kā parādīts pagājušajā nedēļā, kad Pirmā Austrālijas ražotā raķete avarēja pēc 14 sekunžu lidojuma.
The U.S. Space Force was created in 2019 to protect American interests in space and defend U.S. satellites from adversary attacks.
The Space Service is much smaller than the more established services like the Army, Navy, or Air Force, but it is growing. The White House is expected to announce a location for its headquarters soon. Colorado and Alabama are both candidates in the area.
The U.S. military operates an unmanned space shuttle used for classified military missions and research. The craft, known as the X-37B, recently returned to Earth after more than a year in orbit.
The Space Force called access to space a vital national security interest.
“Space is a combat domain, and the mission of the Space Force is to challenge and control its environment to achieve national security objectives,” the statement said.
American dominance in space has been largely unchallenged for decades since the end of the Cold War and the fall of the Soviet Union. But new threats and competition from Russia and China demonstrate the need for an aggressive response, U.S. officials say.
Turner said the hope is that the United States can take steps to ensure that Russia and China cannot gain the upper hand, and the frightening potential of space weapons is not realized.
“You have to pay attention to these things so they don’t happen,” Turner said.
