will be one of the most revolutionary technological challenges of the new space
race. According to the RAND Corporation,
57
the US, Russia and China have
reached an advanced development stage of this brand-new technology, while
France, Japan, Australia and India are still at an early stage. By next decade however, this weapon should be operational, with disruptive consequences for the current anti-missile defenses designed to counter poorly maneuverable ICBM’s
58
with ballistic trajectories. Future hypersonic missiles will be able to change their
trajectory even above Mach 5
59
and will become uncatchable by current
countermeasures.
To establish a new and efficient protective system, it will be necessary to
increase the computing capabilities of ground stations and launch into space an
ever-increasing number of satellites capable of detecting all missile launches and
following their trajectories at any moment, exchanging data continuously with
command and control centers on Earth. For this reason, the US Missile Defense
Agency is building satellites equipped with ultra-wide-bandwidth infrared
cameras,
60
which are designed to track the heat signatures of this type of missile.
The futuristic space weapons pictured in the fifties, hitting satellites in orbit or
bombing the Earth at hypersonic speed, are becoming a reality.
Another classic science-fiction weapon is about to materialize in space: the
Direct Energy Weapon (DEW), a laser weapon that is soon going to be part of the
military arsenals of spacefaring nations. A space-based laser could induce electrical currents in the circuits of a spacecraft and damage it without causing debris
like kinetic ASAT do. Its use has been prevented until now by the high energy
requirement to feed the system – electrical power at least three times higher than
that of the actual beam produced to hit a target. In 2017, the Chinese Army published a report on a promising small-scale laser prototype under development that
was capable of sending high-powered microwave beams over long distances.
61
Many observers took this report seriously, as normally, a huge antenna and highpower system are needed to generate high-energy waves. But apparently, the
57
Speier, Richard H., George Nacouzi, Carrie Lee, and Richard M. Moore. 2017. Hypersonic
Missile Non-proliferation Hindering the Spread of a New Class of Weapons. RAND Corporation
Research Report, RAND.
58
In 2017, 31 countries, including the US and its allies, own ICBM ballistic missiles, but only
nine of them – China, France, India, Israel, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, the United Kingdom
and the US – have nuclear weapons. Only Iran, in addition to the other nine mentioned, have
ICBM’s capable of flying distances greater than 1,000 kilometers.
59
https://www.grc.nasa.gov/www/k-12/airplane/mach.html.
60
Mascio, Jen Di. 2018. MDA Eyes Space Sensors to Track Hypersonic Threats. Aerospace
Daily & Défense Report.
61
https://thediplomat.com/2017/03/the-plas-potential-breakthrough-in-high-power-microwave-weapons/.
110 Battlestar Galactica: The Space Cyberwar of the Future
race. According to the RAND Corporation,
57
the US, Russia and China have
reached an advanced development stage of this brand-new technology, while
France, Japan, Australia and India are still at an early stage. By next decade however, this weapon should be operational, with disruptive consequences for the current anti-missile defenses designed to counter poorly maneuverable ICBM’s
58
with ballistic trajectories. Future hypersonic missiles will be able to change their
trajectory even above Mach 5
59
and will become uncatchable by current
countermeasures.
To establish a new and efficient protective system, it will be necessary to
increase the computing capabilities of ground stations and launch into space an
ever-increasing number of satellites capable of detecting all missile launches and
following their trajectories at any moment, exchanging data continuously with
command and control centers on Earth. For this reason, the US Missile Defense
Agency is building satellites equipped with ultra-wide-bandwidth infrared
cameras,
60
which are designed to track the heat signatures of this type of missile.
The futuristic space weapons pictured in the fifties, hitting satellites in orbit or
bombing the Earth at hypersonic speed, are becoming a reality.
Another classic science-fiction weapon is about to materialize in space: the
Direct Energy Weapon (DEW), a laser weapon that is soon going to be part of the
military arsenals of spacefaring nations. A space-based laser could induce electrical currents in the circuits of a spacecraft and damage it without causing debris
like kinetic ASAT do. Its use has been prevented until now by the high energy
requirement to feed the system – electrical power at least three times higher than
that of the actual beam produced to hit a target. In 2017, the Chinese Army published a report on a promising small-scale laser prototype under development that
was capable of sending high-powered microwave beams over long distances.
61
Many observers took this report seriously, as normally, a huge antenna and highpower system are needed to generate high-energy waves. But apparently, the
57
Speier, Richard H., George Nacouzi, Carrie Lee, and Richard M. Moore. 2017. Hypersonic
Missile Non-proliferation Hindering the Spread of a New Class of Weapons. RAND Corporation
Research Report, RAND.
58
In 2017, 31 countries, including the US and its allies, own ICBM ballistic missiles, but only
nine of them – China, France, India, Israel, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, the United Kingdom
and the US – have nuclear weapons. Only Iran, in addition to the other nine mentioned, have
ICBM’s capable of flying distances greater than 1,000 kilometers.
59
https://www.grc.nasa.gov/www/k-12/airplane/mach.html.
60
Mascio, Jen Di. 2018. MDA Eyes Space Sensors to Track Hypersonic Threats. Aerospace
Daily & Défense Report.
61
https://thediplomat.com/2017/03/the-plas-potential-breakthrough-in-high-power-microwave-weapons/.
110 Battlestar Galactica: The Space Cyberwar of the Future