US Space Force Invests In Space-Based Aircraft Carrier For Satellite Protection

The US Space Force has secured a contract worth up to US$60 million to develop and deploy a type of aircraft carrier in space. While this may sound unusual, the purpose is to position space vehicles in orbit to quickly address potential threats.

Space Once Seen as a Peaceful Zone, Now the Battlefield of the Future

In the past, space was largely seen as a peaceful zone, untouched by conflict, even during the Cold War and Space Race. During this time, discussions about space-based weapons remained largely theoretical, with the exception of peculiar occurrences, such as the Soviet Union secretly installing an aircraft cannon on their Salyut 3 space station in 1973, intended to deter American space missions.

However, the situation has changed dramatically today. Russia and China are both aggressively advancing the development of weapons to target and disable or destroy Western satellites. These weapons include radio jammers, lasers, microwave devices, robotic arms, chemical sprays, kinetic kill vehicles, and even nuclear warheads designed to obliterate entire satellite constellations.

The use of these weapons is a nightmare scenario for any military leader, as space warfare carries much higher stakes than terrestrial combat. Even the limited Soviet gun demonstrated how challenging space combat can be; for instance, if it missed its target, the shell would simply continue orbiting Earth and return to strike the station.

This distinction is important because satellites don’t just disappear like a downed aircraft or a sunken ship. They remain in orbit, either as dangerous debris or as damaged objects containing volatile materials, which could potentially trigger catastrophic collisions and cause even more destruction than initially intended.

Space Force’s Strategy: Deterrence and Mitigation

To counter this, the Space Force, along with other Western defense forces, focuses on deterrence and mitigation. Their goal is to make space attacks undesirable by preventing them, reducing their impact, or restoring essential capabilities swiftly to deny any advantage to the enemy.

To achieve this, the Space Force requires reliable, maneuverable spacecraft in orbit at all times. Instead of individual satellites, these vehicles will be stored in a central mothership that can deploy them as needed. This concept is similar to the fictional ships in Battlestar Galactica or Babylon 5, though with more practical purposes. This is why the Strategic Funding Increase (STRATFI) from SpaceWERX has provided funding to Gravitics, a company specializing in the construction of large space structures such as outposts and cargo ships, and now the Orbital Carrier.

According to Gravitics, this new space carrier will give the Space Force a rapid, adaptable response to emerging threats. It will also enable the US and its allies to maintain dominance in space, just as NATO’s aircraft carriers ensure control over the seas.

A demonstration of the Orbital Carrier could happen as soon as next year.

Gravitics CEO Highlights the Significance of the Orbital Carrier

We’re thrilled to collaborate with the U.S. Space Force on this vital project, said Colin Doughan, CEO of Gravitics. The Orbital Carrier represents a groundbreaking solution, offering a pre-positioned launchpad in space. It removes traditional launch barriers and allows operators to quickly select deployment orbits as needed.

Read the original article on: New Atlas

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