CDR Salamander - Define “Weapons”, in “Weapons in Space”...if you don’t mind...

Last week was, if anything, “Space Week.”

There were two very intentional statements from senior U.S. military leaders, one civilian and one uniformed, that put markers down. It is much more important than the coverage it received would suggest.

First, the Secretary of the Air Force,

Air Force Secretary Troy Meink offered no details about the nature or makeup of the weapons but described them as “on-orbit space control weapons capable of defending the joint force against hostile adversary action.” He made the surprise admission during his keynote address Monday at the annual Air, Space and Cyber Conference at National Harbor, Md. A Space Force spokesperson said the weapons were deployed to increase “readiness against existing threats,” but declined to provide additional detail.

The following statement is, well, a work of art. Not good art, but a work of art nonetheless.

A Space Force spokesperson said the weapons were deployed to increase “readiness against existing threats,” but declined to provide additional detail. “Space control encapsulates the mission areas required to contest and control the space domain – employing kinetic and non-kinetic means to affect adversary capabilities through disruption, degradation and even destruction, if necessary,” the spokesperson said in an emailed statement under the condition his or her name not be published. “These capabilities can be employed for offensive and defensive purposes at the direction of combatant commands.”

Let me see if I can tap into my old staff-weenie head to translate that for everyone.

Weapons can be soft-kill (think Electronic Attack, jamming, etc), or hard kill (which needs no explanation). What kind are we referring to here? I’m thinking the former over the latter.

Some think that “international law” prevents the militarization of space. Not true. The only thing on the books is the 1967 Outer Space Treaty. In Article IV of the treaty, it bans weapons of mass destruction in space. It also covers the Moon…which will tie in to the second part of today’s post.

Before we go, something about the timing of the above announcement with recent events. Just a coincidence, I’m sure.

A Chinese satellite has left “space debris” in Earth’s orbit, adding to the growing clutter that could circle our planet for centuries.

Here’s what to know

The debris field was left by Yaogan 50-02 — a Chinese reconnaissance satellite that had been flying in an unusual retrograde orbit about 590 miles above Earth, according to Futurism. The U.S. Space Force is tracking 43 fragments from the breakup in orbits ranging from 372 to 683 miles.

On X, Harvard astronomer and space-tracking expert Jonathan McDowell speculated that a “battery explosion or an impact by space debris” may have caused the breakup.

Interesting was this story released by WSJ about the same time.

Before Iran carried out its attack that killed three U.S. troops in July, Tehran acquired high-resolution satellite images of the base in Jordan from Chinese entities, according to U.S. officials familiar with details of the incident.

It is the clearest evidence so far that Chinese support for Iran during the war has had lethal consequences for U.S. forces, according to the officials, who say the U.S. has connected the imagery to the attack.

Related? Who knows. I don’t think it matters, really. Point is made, and implied.

Is space weaponized now? I think it always has been. The Soviets broke the seal back in 1975, but the latest news is more operational—and it seems to be more permanent. I’m OK with that. As a matter of fact, I’m relieved.

From communications to imagery to defense against attack, space has been critical to the American way of war for decades, and increasingly other space-faring nations as well. We are buying the lives of Americans by dominating space.

Everywhere humans go, the military will either be at the front or close behind. Space will be no different. We might as well steal a march on the rest before they steal a march on us.

In case you have not noticed, there has been a quickening again in space over the last half decade, driven by innovation in the U.S. In the U.S. alone. It is all set to increase further with both commercial (SpaceX, Rocket Lab, Blue Origin, etc.) and state-owned efforts like NASA are accelerating.

There is clearly a new space race, and it is USA v. China, with most of the rest by being American allies.

Also last week was something that was briefly mentioned on yesterday’s Midrats Podcast, but by a person who should get your attention. This is the second leaders mentioned at the top of the post.

Gen Dan Caine, who as chair of the joint chiefs of staff is the country’s most senior military leader, told the Air, Space and Cyber Conference in Maryland this week, that the armed forces including Space Force must be “prepared to fight, endure and win … from the seabed to cislunar space”.

Added to a number of other maneuvers and bold pronouncements Trump has made concerning space in recent weeks and months, it is hard not to see the space weapons reveal by Meink – who holds a civilian position reporting to the US defense secretary, Pete Hegseth – as a further blending of the traditionally separate military and non-military roles of US space policy.

We discussed the critical importance of the Moon two episodes ago on the Midrats Podcast with Dean Cheng.

We must get to the lunar south pole first, as that seems to be the prime real estate. We need to set up a permanent base there…to be the firstest with the mostest, and stay there.

Humans will move into space. That is where our species is destined to go. The question is, what will define the terms of our movement?

Just as North America was founded on British law and customs because that is who mostly settled there, South America’s template was set by Spain.

Quite different outcomes.

Access to and movement through the high seas was set by first the British Empire and then the U.S.A. Why? Because they were the dominate powers in both.

The standards and practices—not to mention law and language—of space will be determined by who is running the show between first Earth and the Moon, and then on to Mars, etc. Be the dominate power, you set the rules.

Look at the People’s Republic of China and her behavior on the open seas, the South China Sea, etc., and all the “Wolf Warrior” diplomacy that comes with it. Do you want that is space, stamping on the human face forever?

Imperfect as we may be, the American solution will come with a healthy flavoring of other democratic systems that we will partner with; Japan, Europe, United Kingdom, South Korea, Australia, and eventually Canada unless they continue to play footsie with the PRC, then they can pack sand.

So, in a bipartisan manner with a steady and growing funding line, the U.S. needs to keep pushing to the Moon. A full court press by NASA, SpaceX, Blue Origin, Rocket Lab…everyone. Whoever can get people and material there should get a funding line.

I’d also like to see how many SpaceX Starships are needed to get the Boring Company up and running on the Moon. Much of the base should be underground…and that will be how to make it happen…I think. What would it take to run that operation from the Moon? I am sure there is already an outline to do that.

How many to get a small nuclear reactor that could provide power to 1,000 people doing industrial work?

More. Faster.

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