threaten/use more traditional means of mass destruction, or preventive destabilization via economic warfare, to balance the gap. Perhaps Elon Musk was
thinking about this when he stated that new technologies will cause a new
world war.
94
Therefore, the ability of democracies to equalize the power of
authoritarian regimes in terms of new technologies would be politically stabilizing. In particular, it will be important to control the orbital belts not with
ASAT capabilities from Earth but with «exo-atmospheric spaceship-carriers»
operating over the entire solar system. In this logic, it appears necessary to
integrate the US and European defenses, especially in the space sector, instead
of maintaining a separation that would leave both weakened. It is important
to note that new military technologies find civilian applications more rapidly
than in the past, and vice versa, and make competitive rearmament a factor of
economic growth. I don’t like to write it, but this is the reality.
95
Considering all these predictions as mere fantasies would be a mistake. Strategic
advances continue to be achieved through space missions that at first glance have
nothing to do with geopolitics. No one had ever managed to land a spaceship on
the far side of the moon, but China did so in 2019. That was the culmination of an
ambitious scientific exploration program that required the launch of two space
probes and the building of large and sophisticated control stations on Earth.
Beijing launched two separate spaceships, Queqiao and the Chang’e-4 lander.
96
The first entered into lunar orbit, while the second landed on the far side. Thanks
to an internationally built panel of instruments, the surface lander will measure the
Moon’s magnetic field and will even try to make onboard plant buds grow. This
achievement has generated curiosity and admiration worldwide.
Reading beyond the scientific aspects of such a mission, we should consider the
potential geopolitical implications of this event. A critical problem that the Chinese
designers faced was the lack of a direct line of visibility, and therefore of communication, between the Earth and the small rover on the far side of the Moon. To
overcome this, they launched the Queqiao satellite at a particular point in space,
called the Lagrange point.
97
There, the forces of attraction of the two celestial bodies offset each other, creating a gravitational equilibrium zone in which the satellite orbits stably without using its own motors. Before reaching the Lagrange point
L2, about 930 thousand miles from our planet, the satellite carried out a complex
94
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/sep/04/elon-musk-ai-third-worldwar-vladimir-putin.
95
Pelanda, Carlo. 2017. L’America sta perdendo la leadership militare. Italia Oggi. https://
www.italiaoggi.it/news/l-america-sta-perdendo-la-leadership-militare-2207616.
96
https://www.space.com/42676-china-moon-far-side-chang-e-4-mission-pictures.html.
97
Guidoni, Umberto. 2014. Viaggiando oltre il cielo. Edizioni BUR, Chapter 3 “Stazione
Lagrange”.
116 Battlestar Galactica: The Space Cyberwar of the Future
thinking about this when he stated that new technologies will cause a new
world war.
94
Therefore, the ability of democracies to equalize the power of
authoritarian regimes in terms of new technologies would be politically stabilizing. In particular, it will be important to control the orbital belts not with
ASAT capabilities from Earth but with «exo-atmospheric spaceship-carriers»
operating over the entire solar system. In this logic, it appears necessary to
integrate the US and European defenses, especially in the space sector, instead
of maintaining a separation that would leave both weakened. It is important
to note that new military technologies find civilian applications more rapidly
than in the past, and vice versa, and make competitive rearmament a factor of
economic growth. I don’t like to write it, but this is the reality.
95
Considering all these predictions as mere fantasies would be a mistake. Strategic
advances continue to be achieved through space missions that at first glance have
nothing to do with geopolitics. No one had ever managed to land a spaceship on
the far side of the moon, but China did so in 2019. That was the culmination of an
ambitious scientific exploration program that required the launch of two space
probes and the building of large and sophisticated control stations on Earth.
Beijing launched two separate spaceships, Queqiao and the Chang’e-4 lander.
96
The first entered into lunar orbit, while the second landed on the far side. Thanks
to an internationally built panel of instruments, the surface lander will measure the
Moon’s magnetic field and will even try to make onboard plant buds grow. This
achievement has generated curiosity and admiration worldwide.
Reading beyond the scientific aspects of such a mission, we should consider the
potential geopolitical implications of this event. A critical problem that the Chinese
designers faced was the lack of a direct line of visibility, and therefore of communication, between the Earth and the small rover on the far side of the Moon. To
overcome this, they launched the Queqiao satellite at a particular point in space,
called the Lagrange point.
97
There, the forces of attraction of the two celestial bodies offset each other, creating a gravitational equilibrium zone in which the satellite orbits stably without using its own motors. Before reaching the Lagrange point
L2, about 930 thousand miles from our planet, the satellite carried out a complex
94
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/sep/04/elon-musk-ai-third-worldwar-vladimir-putin.
95
Pelanda, Carlo. 2017. L’America sta perdendo la leadership militare. Italia Oggi. https://
www.italiaoggi.it/news/l-america-sta-perdendo-la-leadership-militare-2207616.
96
https://www.space.com/42676-china-moon-far-side-chang-e-4-mission-pictures.html.
97
Guidoni, Umberto. 2014. Viaggiando oltre il cielo. Edizioni BUR, Chapter 3 “Stazione
Lagrange”.
116 Battlestar Galactica: The Space Cyberwar of the Future