Space is becoming increasingly congested, contested and competed over. It has never been so easy – or so cheap – to launch a satellite into orbit. With space ac...
US Space Command was re-established in 2019, with responsibility for all military operations in outer space. But how much adversarial competition are we actually seeing in this domain? General Stephen Whiting, Commander of US Space Command, discusses the realities of space warfare, how multi-domain integration of military capabilities involves the space domain, and how we can work better with allies to ensure resilient space architectures. This episode was recorded in August 2024.
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23:40
Episode 46: Space ‘Olympics’: A Gold Medal for the US?
The US is the undisputed predominant space power. But for how long? While Western private companies such as Space X are entering and often dominating the space sector, China’s space power is also increasing, with private space launch enterprises such as that of Galactic Energy. Todd Harrison, Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, joins the podcast to discuss what the US must do now to stay ahead of the game. How should it interact with the private sector and where its priorities lie? After all, an advantage in technology may prove temporary if innovation does not follow in other areas.
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27:28
Episode 45: 'Zeitenwende' in Space?
How does space power fit into German defence thinking, and has this changed since German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called for a ‘Zeitenwende’ in 2022? When Chancellor Scholz addressed the nation shortly after the large-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, a fundamental reconfiguring of Germany’s defence policy and budget was promised. The word Zeitenwende (‘turning point’) usually refers to the shift from one era to another, but two years on from his speech, much remains business-as-usual. Joining us to discuss German defence in the space domain is Antje Nötzold, Assistant Professor at Chemnitz University of Technology and Associate Fellow at the Centre for Advanced Security, Strategic and Integration Studies at the University of Bonn. We analyse the country's sovereign capabilities and ambitions for space power.
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Episode 44: Not All That Orbits is Gold: Space Debris
We hear about the dangers of space debris all the time – the high velocities with which discarded or disused manmade objects travel around the Earth and the threat that high-speed impacts, even of small debris pieces, pose to satellites. Technologies are currently being developed to mitigate this, including by the company Astroscale. Alex Godfrey, Business Development Manager at Astroscale, talks to us about the technical challenges of debris mitigation, as well as future missions and trends. We also discuss the inherent dual-use nature of these technologies and how debris mitigation can be used for nefarious purposes. The question is whether space security and future sustainability measures are doomed to always be at odds – can we keep space free of debris and sleep soundly at night, knowing that robotic arms are orbiting our satellites?
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Episode 43: Europe in Space
There is no pan-European approach to space. Instead, there is a diverse set of European actors, agencies and infrastructures that are making a mark on the final frontier. Who exactly is involved in the various European space endeavours and what are their projects? Are the constellations of Copernicus and Galileo the limit of ambition or will we see further projects and a tie into NATO? Mathieu Bataille, Research Fellow and Lead on Security and Defence at the European Space Policy Institute, joins us to discuss these questions and more.
Space is becoming increasingly congested, contested and competed over. It has never been so easy – or so cheap – to launch a satellite into orbit. With space activity proliferating, its impact on national security has grown too: space assets are becoming vulnerable and space debris is becoming increasingly dangerous. War in Space is a series of interviews with experts in space and defence that will analyse the intersection of space and national security, unravelling the technical jargon that so often accompanies these discussions and explaining why space matters for our everyday lives and security.
The views or statements expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the podcast does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent. Views and opinions expressed by RUSI employees are those of the employees and do not necessarily reflect the view of RUSI.
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