Anti-satellite and Space Weapons

Abstract

Abstract As space becomes increasingly important to national security, states are developing anti-satellite weapons and other space-based weapons to help secure their interests. The ability to negate satellite capabilities can help a state be sure a potential adversary cannot use space assets to enhance terrestrial military power in a conflict or to retain exclusive or primary use of space resources such as geosynchronous or cislunar orbits, the moon, and asteroids without being challenged. This chapter considers that while anti-satellite weapons can make a potential adversary reconsider whether a disarming nuclear first strike might be possible and deter them from building space-based weapons, these weapons cannot, however, assure dominance of the space environment, and the pursuit of dominance is likely to lead to arms racing and potentially serious crisis instability problems.