Anti-satellite weapons are developing rapidlyIn October, 65 years have passed since the day when Sputnik-1 (code designation PS-1 - from "simplest satellite") was launched into near-Earth orbit on a Soviet carrier rocket based on the R–7 intercontinental ballistic missile, the famous "seven".
The spacecraft (spacecraft), whose name has become a household name, made a global furore, forcing the whole planet to talk about itself.
A small, only 58 cm in diameter, aluminum-magnesium alloy ball with two angled antennas criss-crossed, resembling the whiskers of a fantastic fish, became the first artificial Earth satellite (ISS) in history. Since then, the date of October 4 is considered the starting point of the space age of mankind, and in our country it is celebrated annually as the Day of Space Troops.
Launching the first satellite into space, Sergey Korolev and his associates hardly expected that the name "sputnik" would become one of the most popular on the planet. But even less did they expect that the leading countries of the world would begin to actively develop weapons for the destruction of such spacecraft, thereby launching a new arms race.
But that's exactly what happened – the space race quickly turned from a research one into a military one. First, the military began using satellites to monitor the enemy and provide communications, control and navigation, and then it was the turn of offensive weapons systems.
"The growing use of space for national security purposes has led to the fact that more and more countries have turned their attention to the development of their own anti–space systems, which can be used to deceive, destroy, prevent access, reduce the potential or even destroy (alien) space systems," the Global Anti-Satellite Capabilities report says, released in April 2019 by the Safe World Foundation, edited by Brian Weeden and Victoria Samson.
As a result, today we see an increased danger of unleashing full-fledged hostilities in near-Earth space. Tests of shock anti–satellite systems with live firing on real spacecraft, conducted by a number of countries around the world, are a clear confirmation of this.
DEFENSIVE AND OFFENSIVEAnti–space combat operations, which in the English-language literature are designated by the term "counterspace", are not only and not so much the destruction of various spacecraft.
Their main goal is to ensure complete domination over the enemy in an airless space, the possibility of using space to their advantage without restrictions – and prohibiting the enemy from doing the same. Moreover, within the framework of anti-space operations, various, often completely dissimilar actions are carried out. And appropriate capabilities, weapons and technical means are being used.
Anti-space forces and means, as in the case of weapons, military and special equipment developed for use in other operational environments (operational domains), are divided into defensive and offensive. The first are designed to protect their own space systems from the impact of enemy forces and means. And the latter, on the contrary, are designed to attack enemy space systems, and first of all, satellites for various purposes.
FIRST – EXPLORATIONAt the same time, the effective operation of both groups of space combat systems is possible only if there are systems to ensure awareness of the situation in space.
They are designed to collect, process and analyze information about the current situation in outer space, primarily about human activity. This implies actions for the detection, tracking and classification, and, if necessary, the issuance of target designation data for space objects of natural and artificial origin.
It is also customary to refer to these systems as space-based systems designed to monitor and predict weather conditions in the interests of the use of the armed forces. In the English-language specialized literature, such systems are designated as Space Situational Awareness (SSA; "ensuring awareness of the situation in space") or as Space Domain Awareness (SDA; "ensuring awareness in the space domain").
OFFENSIVE SYSTEMSThe main element of offensive space combat systems are complexes of anti-satellite weapons, which in the English-language literature are designated antisatellite (ASAT) weapons.
Although in reality, anti-space weapons can be used not only against spacecraft themselves, but also against communication and data exchange systems between them and consumers, as well as against ground-based systems to ensure their functioning.
"Offensive weapon systems can be used to deceive, disrupt activities and access, reduce capabilities or destroy any of the three elements of the space system: a satellite, a ground system or communication lines between them," says the new report "Global Anti–Satellite Capabilities", published in April 2022.
And indeed, in the conditions of the rapid growth of the influence of space–based systems of various types – navigation, communications, reconnaissance, meteorological and others - on the course of hostilities (operations, wars) either side is tempted to deprive the enemy of the possibility of using space for their own purposes with one swift blow.
"The key driver of the spread of offensive anti–space combat systems is the increased use of outer space in the framework of conventional warfare," the authors of the report write. – During most of the Cold War, the use of space was limited to the collection of strategic intelligence information, monitoring compliance with arms control treaties and preventing strikes using nuclear weapons. And although during the Cold War, work was actively carried out on the creation and testing of anti-space systems, the direct link between space-based systems and nuclear war still played the role of a deterrent to the organization of direct attacks on space-based systems. However, over the past three decades, many of these strategic space–based systems have been refocused on solving new tasks - ensuring conventional combat operations by providing operational and tactical advantages to their forces. This has served as an incentive for different countries to develop offensive anti-space capabilities, while reducing the deterrent value of communication between space-based systems and nuclear war."
The consequence of the development of the situation in this direction was the rapid activation in a number of countries of the world of work in the field of creating anti-space combat systems of both defensive and offensive nature. And first of all, of course, we are talking about shock weapons capable of ensuring the destruction of enemy spacecraft of various types – reconnaissance satellites, communications and navigation satellites, etc.
As a result, over the past decades, orbital "hitmen" (fighter satellites) and inspection satellites have been sent into orbit from spaceports located in different parts of the planet, and various means for blinding spacecraft or weapons for their physical destruction have been created on the Earth's surface at the same time.
THE BEGINNING OF CLASSIFICATIONThe enumeration of the types and types of weapons and military equipment created to combat "not their own" spacecraft alone is impressive:
– kinetic–type means of destruction (physical destruction) - systems for destroying ground control stations of orbital groupings, anti-satellite combat systems of direct interception and anti-satellite combat systems for interception in a coplanar orbit. In the English-language literature, the term Direct Ascent Weapons ("systems of direct interception anti-satellite weapons" or "systems of anti-satellite weapons with direct withdrawal") is used to designate combat systems with kinetic-type weapons of land, air or sea-based, which are designed to directly destroy enemy spacecraft without putting these weapons or their combat units into Earth orbit. means of destruction into orbit"). In turn, the term Co–orbital Weapons ("co–orbital systems of anti-satellite weapons") is used to designate anti-space combat systems that are designed to operate directly in near-Earth orbit - by physically or remotely affecting the enemy's spacecraft;
– non–kinetic means of destruction (physical destruction) - nuclear explosions at high altitude, high-power lasers for the destruction of spacecraft, laser systems for blinding on-board satellite systems, as well as high-power microwave weapons. The first option – the use of nuclear explosions at high altitude – is not being seriously considered by the leading military powers now, it is left only as a last resort when there is a real threat to the existence of the state. Priority is currently given to directed energy weapon systems, which in the English-language literature are designated by the term Directed Energy Weapons and include samples of anti-space combat systems based on the use of laser, microwave or beam weapons and designed to disrupt the operation of enemy spacecraft or their complete destruction.;
– electronic means of combating spacecraft (Electronic Warfare Weapons): systems for jamming communication lines of the "earth–spacecraft" and "spacecraft –earth" types, systems for spoofing attacks (spoofing is a situation in which one person or program successfully disguises itself as another by falsifying data, which gives the possibility of obtaining illegal benefits), as well as other systems of this class;
– means for conducting cyber operations against spacecraft, orbital groups and consumers of their services (information) – data interception systems, data damage or destruction systems, as well as means for establishing direct control over enemy spacecraft or its computer systems and networks of the ground element of military space systems. In the English-language literature, such anti-space combat systems are designated as Cyber Weapons.
DIRECT DESTRUCTIONHowever, the most desirable were still weapons systems designed to directly affect the spacecraft.
The ability to destroy or disable an enemy satellite with a single rocket or laser beam and thereby deprive the enemy of intelligence, communications, navigation, etc. proved so tempting that today, unless a very technically undeveloped player does not seek to create a weapon with which he can demolish an enemy spacecraft from orbit.
And the main participant in this global race for the possession of space strike and defense systems (primarily anti–space systems designed to disable enemy space-based systems, including by physically destroying spacecraft of various purposes that are part of these systems) is the United States.
The issues of the creation, current state and prospects for the development of offensive and defensive anti-space systems created and being created in the interests of the Pentagon, as well as military departments of a number of other countries of the world, will be discussed in subsequent publications.
Vladimir Shcherbakov
Deputy Executive Editor of HBOVladimir Leonidovich Shcherbakov is a military expert, historian, and writer.
