Russia and China aim to offset any US advantage derived from the use of
civilian, military, or commercial space systems; and they are increasingly
considering attacks on satellites as part of their war doctrine ... both Russia
and China continue to pursue a full range of anti-satellite weapons to reduce
US military effectiveness. These systems include the development of kinetic
destructive means over the next few years, and much more. The Russian and
Chinese military consider space counter-attack weapons as part of a larger
arsenal, pursuing a diverse range of technologies to target satellites in all
orbits.
14
The alarmist tenor of this statement, published in an unclassified and publicly
diffused document, helped bring attention to the issue within the public and political spheres. Already in 2001, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld had declared
that the US was at risk of a Space Pearl Harbour.
15
In his view, the armed forces
had a such crucial tactical dependence on satellites
16
that space had to be military
defended like any other base on Earth and overseas. At the time Rumsfeld sounded
that warning, the so-called New Global Order
17
– the geopolitical stability guaranteed by US global leadership – was gaining ground.
This political doctrine was based on the military supremacy that America had
shown to the world during the first Gulf War, employing its brand-new integrated
network of space-based and ground-based revolutionary systems. During that
brief conflict, the US military deployed for the first time more than 500 new types
of weapons, which had been conceived in the eighties at the time of Reagan’s SDI
project. The lethal effectiveness of these weapons was guaranteed by a network of
satellites and ground computing centres, which together created a network named
Information Warfare.
18
To show the world its technological supremacy, the US conducted the Iraqi war
with heavy media coverage. The media was even allowed to participate in operations in order to show the public some of the new and incredible weapons at the
US’s disposal. One of those was the Patriot missile. This rocket was capable of
intercepting the Iraqi Scud missiles launched against Israel, thanks to real-time
information flow managed by a complex space and ground system. A fleet of
14
http://www.dni.gov/files/documents/Newsroom/Testimonies/SSCI_SFR_Unclassified_
Final.pdf.
15
In 1941 in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, a surprise attack by the Japanese destroyed the American
Pacific fleet anchored in the port, causing heavy losses for the entire US Navy.
16
Report of the Commission to Asses United States National Security Space Management and
Organization, Pursuant to Public Law 106-65, January 11, 2001.
17
https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/1992-03-01/what-new-world-order.
18
RAND Corporation, Roger C. Molander, Andrew Riddile, and Peter A. Wilson. 1996. Report
“Strategic Information Warfare, A New Face of War”. MR-661. https://www.rand.org/pubs/
monograph_reports/MR661/index2.html.
104 Battlestar Galactica: The Space Cyberwar of the Future
civilian, military, or commercial space systems; and they are increasingly
considering attacks on satellites as part of their war doctrine ... both Russia
and China continue to pursue a full range of anti-satellite weapons to reduce
US military effectiveness. These systems include the development of kinetic
destructive means over the next few years, and much more. The Russian and
Chinese military consider space counter-attack weapons as part of a larger
arsenal, pursuing a diverse range of technologies to target satellites in all
orbits.
14
The alarmist tenor of this statement, published in an unclassified and publicly
diffused document, helped bring attention to the issue within the public and political spheres. Already in 2001, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld had declared
that the US was at risk of a Space Pearl Harbour.
15
In his view, the armed forces
had a such crucial tactical dependence on satellites
16
that space had to be military
defended like any other base on Earth and overseas. At the time Rumsfeld sounded
that warning, the so-called New Global Order
17
– the geopolitical stability guaranteed by US global leadership – was gaining ground.
This political doctrine was based on the military supremacy that America had
shown to the world during the first Gulf War, employing its brand-new integrated
network of space-based and ground-based revolutionary systems. During that
brief conflict, the US military deployed for the first time more than 500 new types
of weapons, which had been conceived in the eighties at the time of Reagan’s SDI
project. The lethal effectiveness of these weapons was guaranteed by a network of
satellites and ground computing centres, which together created a network named
Information Warfare.
18
To show the world its technological supremacy, the US conducted the Iraqi war
with heavy media coverage. The media was even allowed to participate in operations in order to show the public some of the new and incredible weapons at the
US’s disposal. One of those was the Patriot missile. This rocket was capable of
intercepting the Iraqi Scud missiles launched against Israel, thanks to real-time
information flow managed by a complex space and ground system. A fleet of
14
http://www.dni.gov/files/documents/Newsroom/Testimonies/SSCI_SFR_Unclassified_
Final.pdf.
15
In 1941 in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, a surprise attack by the Japanese destroyed the American
Pacific fleet anchored in the port, causing heavy losses for the entire US Navy.
16
Report of the Commission to Asses United States National Security Space Management and
Organization, Pursuant to Public Law 106-65, January 11, 2001.
17
https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/1992-03-01/what-new-world-order.
18
RAND Corporation, Roger C. Molander, Andrew Riddile, and Peter A. Wilson. 1996. Report
“Strategic Information Warfare, A New Face of War”. MR-661. https://www.rand.org/pubs/
monograph_reports/MR661/index2.html.
104 Battlestar Galactica: The Space Cyberwar of the Future