The Sunday Read: ‘What Does the U.S. Space Force Actually Do?’

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Nov 19, 2023

The podcast dives into the fascinating world of the U.S. Space Force, the newest military branch dedicated to safeguarding American interests in space. It discusses how vital satellites have become for everything from modern warfare to daily life. A high-ranking official reveals pressing threats to space security and the challenges in monitoring orbital assets. The conversation extends to the geopolitical complexities of space warfare, particularly regarding rivals like China and Russia, and the importance of advanced technologies in navigating these new frontiers.

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ANECDOTE

Current Space Threats

Chief Master Sergeant Ron Lurch gave a threat assessment, citing kinetic kill vehicles and grappling hook machines.
China is testing unmanned space planes with quantum communication and AI.

INSIGHT

Space Force Formation

The Space Force's creation consolidated existing space programs from other military branches under central command.
This aimed to address concerns about the US falling behind in space capabilities due to bureaucratic inefficiencies.

INSIGHT

US Space Vulnerability

A Chinese military analyst, Wang Hu Cheng, highlighted the US's reliance on space systems as a strategic weakness.
Modern warfare and daily life depend heavily on satellites, making them crucial to protect.

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The Space Force, the sixth and newest branch of the U.S. military, was authorized by Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump in December 2019. The initiative had been shaped within the armed forces and Congress over the previous 25 years, based on the premise that as satellite and space technologies evolved, America’s military organizations had to change as well.

From the start, the Space Force had detractors. Air Force officials wondered if it was necessary, while some political observers believed that it signified the start of a dangerous (and expensive) militarization of another realm. What seemed harder to argue against was how nearly every aspect of modern warfare and defense — intelligence, surveillance, communications, operations, missile detection — has come to rely on links to orbiting satellites.

The recent battles in Eastern Europe, in which Russia has tried to disrupt Ukraine’s space-borne communication systems, are a case in point. And yet the strategic exploitation of space now extends well beyond military concerns. Satellite phone systems have become widespread. Positioning and timing satellites, such as GPS (now overseen by the Space Force), allow for digital mapping, navigation, banking and agricultural management. A world without orbital weather surveys seems unthinkable. Modern life is reliant on space technologies to an extent that an interruption would create profound economic and social distress.

For the moment, the force has taken up a problem not often contemplated outside science fiction: How do you fight a war in space, or a war on Earth that expands into space? And even if you’re ready to fight, how do you make sure you don’t have a space war in the first place?

This story was recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

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