Space Wars

Introduction: The Battle Above Us

No war has yet been fought in space. But the weapons for one already exist, and more are being built every year.

Every morning, most of us depend on satellites without a second thought. They time the transactions at our banks, guide our phones and aircraft, forecast our weather and carry our calls across oceans. They also let generals see, hear and strike across whole continents. More than ten thousand active satellites now circle the Earth, and almost all of them are undefended. That makes orbit the most valuable high ground in history, and one of the most vulnerable.

The major powers have noticed. The United States, Russia, China and India have each destroyed a satellite with a missile fired from Earth. China's 2007 test alone left thousands of pieces of debris that still threaten spacecraft today. Russia's 2021 test forced astronauts on the International Space Station to shelter in their escape capsules. These were demonstrations, not attacks, but the message was clear: any satellite can be reached.

Today's arsenal goes far beyond missiles. Satellites now stalk other satellites, sometimes coming within a few kilometers of them. Some carry robotic arms that could grab or disable a rival. Ground-based lasers can dazzle cameras in orbit, and jammers can drown out signals from space. Hackers target the ground stations that control satellites. American officials warn that Russia is developing a nuclear weapon designed for orbit, one that could wipe out whole constellations at once.