Anti-satellite weapons

How the superpowers are gearing up for war in space

Missile attacks are just one of many ways of rendering satellites harmless.

(Bild: stock.adobe.com)

When then US President Donald Trump unveiled a space army called "Space Force" in 2019, the move was met with amused looks. Five years later, the USA is warning of a Russian space weapon that the Kremlin could use to attack satellites. But it is not only Moscow that is working on plans to render enemy satellites useless in the event of a conflict. The topic is also occupying engineers from Beijing to Washington. The background to the militarization of space.

Earth's orbit is increasingly being seen as a potential battlefield - and it is being upgraded in order to gain a military advantage in the event of a conflict. Against this backdrop, it comes as no surprise that Russia is also experimenting with anti-satellite weapons - with dangerous consequences. As early as 2021, a rocket was tested to destroy an old Soviet satellite. A cloud of debris was created, forcing the International Space Station to perform an evasive maneuver. Now Washington is even warning of an anti-satellite nuclear weapon that has apparently already been placed in orbit.