Should the U.S. Military Defend U.S. Commercial Space Operators Involved In Ukraine?

Should the U.S. Military Defend U.S. Commercial Space Operators Involved In Ukraine? This week is the third episode of a month-long look at the different aspects of Russia’s War in Ukraine and space, the space business, and defense. It is highly recommended to listen to the prior episode first, to understand how Ukraine is using commercial space-based assets to close the kill-chain and achieve strategic decision-making advantage against Russia. As U.S. commercial space operators are involved in the conflict, a first in any war, this episode explores just what responsibility does the U.S. government have in defending these U.S. flagged assets. Laura Winter speaks with Steve Wood, the Senior Director of Maxar Technologies’ News Bureau; Christopher Stone, a Senior Advisor and Consultant with Core-CSI, LLC, who is a former Special Assistant to the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy, and author of “Reversing the Tao: A Framework for Credible Space Deterrence”; and with David Burbach, an Associate Professor of National Security Affairs at the US Naval War College, who is an expert on space and warfare.