The global movie industry loves sharing outlandish stories with audiences about the possibility of a future battle coming to Earth through the weaponization of outer space. These fictional tales in movies like Independence Day and Star Wars are loosely inspired by real-life international space and military actions such as the historic Cold War and the space race of the 1950s, and urban legends about Area 51 and alien abductions.
But how much of these space “threats” are actually realistic? Keep reading to learn about the weaponization of outer space.
What is the Weaponization of Outer Space?
China and Russia have been years ahead of the U.S. are looking for various ways to destroy the satellites that the U.S. have been depending on for communication purposes. They have been gathering intelligence, missiles, drones, and guided bombs for precision against the U.S. for years, and the U.S.federal government has been doing similar things as well.
The Pentagon is catching up and investing a lot of money into thickening their defenses against anti-satellite weapons, training experts in the art of cyber warfare.
In some small ways, we are now presently reaching a point where Star Wars doesn’t seem like a simple movie anymore. The CEO of Aerospace Corp., Steve Isakowitz, has stated that the U.S. is no longer the super power among international countries that it once was.
Because of how situations in space seem to be intensifying, many other countries also have the capability for battle now through more tech-savvy warriors on the field, or drones that fly in the sky, or secret bombers that move internationally through collective intelligence. Daily, we all become dependent on advanced technologies based around the weaponization of outer space.
Our Advantage
A lot of Americans are afraid of a Russian military advantage, which has helped inspire the space race that was the first after the Sputnik launch in the year 1957. In fact, former President Ronald Reagan had a Star Wars-esque program in the 1980s that sought to build a shield that was space-based to battle against a missile nuclear attack.
In decades not so far gone, outer space, which has mostly been a place for collaboration and exploration peacefully, has been normalized by the rockets from Russia that take American astronauts to the international space station.
But people worry that how things could easily turn to a major confrontation someday. An early report that was issued by U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told the U.S. that attacking these systems is a real possibility.
One of the new signs of how urgent the situation is came about when the U.S. President Donald Trump called for the establishment of a space force, which would be a separate branch for the military that would be responsible for making sure the U.S. is supreme in outer space. This is a role that is presently filled by the U.S. Air Force.
So how do you feel about the weaponization of outer space? Do you think the threat is real?