6. The First Space War

When was the first space war? A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away perhaps? Not quite. It was actually much closer to home. In fact, the first Gulf War in 1991 is often regarded as 'the first space war'. Why? Because it was the first conflict in which space power provided a significant advantage, especially to tactical operations. 

With the advent of the Global Positioning System (GPS), satellites offered a means of navigation not previously available. Given that much of the fighting took place in uncharted desert, this was of huge importance in guiding US forces to their designated target. But space based systems also ensured that the US Army weren't beholden to line of sight communications either, giving them another sizeable advantage over Iraqi forces. 

In today's show, we have Colonel Ronan Ellis (ret. US Army), talking to us about his experiences as Commander of US Army Space Command before and during the Gulf War. Colonel Ellis was literally the person responsible for creating the doctrine and practices that gave us the first space war, so you won't find many people better qualified to discuss space power in the Gulf War!