Hijacked Satellites and Orbiting Space Weapons: In the 21st Century, Space is the New Battlefield

In a shocking display of cyber warfare, hackers backing the Kremlin hijacked an orbiting satellite that provides television service to Ukraine, beaming in footage from Moscow's Victory Day parade instead of normal programming. The brazen attack was meant to intimidate and underscore the fact that 21st-century war is no longer confined to traditional battlefields, but also extends into the realm of outer space.

"If you can impede a satellite's ability to communicate, you can cause a significant disruption," said Tom Pace, CEO of NetRise, a cybersecurity firm focused on protecting supply chains. "Think about GPS. Imagine if a population lost that and the confusion it would cause."

The X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle-7, the U.S. Space Force's dynamic unmanned spaceplane, successfully landed March 7 at Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif., marking another milestone in the growing importance of space-based assets.

More than 12,000 operating satellites orbit Earth, playing a critical role not just in broadcast communications but also in military operations, navigation systems like GPS, intelligence gathering, and economic supply chains. They are also key to early launch-detection efforts that can warn of approaching missiles, making them a significant national security vulnerability and a prime target for anyone looking to undermine an adversary's economy or military readiness.

As Russian forces invaded Ukraine in 2022, someone targeted Viasat, the U.S.-based satellite company used by Ukraine's government and military. The hack, which Kyiv blamed on Moscow, used malware to infect tens of thousands of modems, creating an outage affecting wide swaths of Europe.

National security officials say Russia is developing a nuclear, space-based weapon designed to take out virtually every satellite in low-Earth orbit at once. The weapon would combine a physical attack that would ripple outward, destroying more satellites, while the nuclear component would fry their electronics.

"If this anti-satellite nuclear weapon would be put in space, it would be the end of the space age," said Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio. "It should never be permitted to go into outer space."

China and Russia also have plans for their own nuclear plants on the moon, while the U.S. plans missions to the moon and Mars. The competition is likely to increase as the promise of mining the moon becomes a reality, with valuable minerals and other materials found on the moon and in asteroids becoming key players in future conflicts.

Acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy announced plans this month to send a small nuclear reactor to the moon, saying it's essential for the U.S. to do so before China or Russia. "We're in a race to the moon, in a race with China to the moon," he said. "To have a base on the moon, we need energy and some of the key locations on the moon."

The moon is rich in helium 3, a material scientists believe could be used in nuclear fusion to generate huge amounts of energy. Control over the moon could determine which countries emerge as superpowers, according to Joseph Rooke, a London-based cybersecurity expert.

The U.S. Space Force, created in 2019 to protect American interests in space and defend U.S. satellites from attacks, is growing. The U.S. military also operates an unmanned space shuttle used to conduct classified military missions and research.

As nations scramble to create their own rocket and space programs to exploit commercial prospects and ensure they aren't dependent on foreign satellites, the stakes are high. The U.S. Space Force, SpaceX, and other private companies are investing heavily in space technology, but the risks of cyber attacks and space-based warfare cannot be ignored.

The future of space exploration and military operations hangs in the balance, as nations compete for dominance in the cosmos. Will the promise of new technologies and energy sources be enough to secure a place among the superpowers? Only time will tell.