two hypersonic \u201cspace nukes\u201d<\/a> in 2021.<\/p>\nMeanwhile, Russia is believed to be building nuke-carrying space weapons and has repeatedly warned \u201cquasi-civilian\u201d commercial satellites were a \u201clegitimate target for retaliation,\u201d according to the USSS.<\/p>\n
In a show of force in the lead up to the war in Ukraine, Moscow blew up a defunct Soviet satellite, creating a cloud of space junk that endangered the International Space Station and China\u2019s Tiangong Space Station.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s under this cloud of great uncertainty that Australia established its first-ever space command centre in 2022 – a joint-capabilities group tasked with strategic space planning as well as designing and operating space facilities. <\/p>\n
The 2024 National Defence Strategy also promised $12bn under the Integrated Investment Program to enhance Australia\u2019s space capabilities while Space Command is offering a new range of specialist roles to lure new talent and knowledge.<\/p>\n
Experts say the moves are Australia flexing \u201cserious muscle\u201d in the space domain. Others are expressing alarm and say the funding can\u2019t come quick enough.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe next step is, rather than simply watching as the Chinese attack our satellites, let\u2019s have the means to protect our satellites and that\u2019s where space control comes in,\u201d Dr Davis said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re going to be much more reliant on satellites in coming years, including our own satellites to take joint, integrated operations, so we need to recognise there is a real threat out there.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u2018China wants space dominance\u2019<\/p>\n
Dr Davis said Beijing could easily knock out critical Aussie comms satellites using ground-based missile systems or fry them by blasting high-powered microwave radiation using military hardware located in space. They can also shove satellites out of orbit using grappling machines.<\/p>\n
He said China could also exploit chaos wrought by Russia\u2019s alleged building of nuke-carrying weapons to multiply numbers of its own deadly kit in space.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf the Russians go ahead and deploy this capability, it would be a deliberate and gross violation of the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, which is the foundation for all space law and arms control\u2026The Chinese can then exploit that and move much more aggressively in space in terms of space weaponisation and space warfighting,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the Americans don\u2019t want to see that, but they\u2019re also taking steps in terms of weapons capabilities and warfighting, so there is a clear move by the US to think about space warfighting.\u201d<\/p>\n
The detonation of nuclear weapons in space would create massive amounts of radiation and electromagnetic pulse that would \u201cfry indiscriminately any satellites in visual range for that detonation,\u201d Dr Davis warned.<\/p>\n
Retired Royal Australian Air Force commander Terry van Haren said recent events, such as Russia\u2019s downing of defunct Soviet satellite Cosmos 1408 in November 2021, should be a wake-up call for Canberra.<\/p>\n
He said Space Command has been operating on a shoestring budget for too long and called on Canberra to front-end its $12bn funding package now so space scientists can use the pool of cash now to develop our capabilities.<\/p>\n
He said Australia has been \u201chighly reliant\u201d on US assistance for too long and needed to bring that space tech expertise and production, as well as the supply chain, onto Aussie shores – a term known in the space defence community as sovereign capability.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe haven\u2019t really taken a sovereign approach at all, except for standing up Space Command and resourcing it,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s an important one because now you\u2019ve got a command in itself and, actually, to build a capability and operate that capability, which is very important,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
But he warned China\u2019s \u201crapid advances\u201d in space were worrying.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat should keep us all awake at night should be the rapid advances of the adversary and that\u2019s the capability and capacity, more so of China\u2019s People\u2019s Liberation Army\u2019s space forces, and the Russians [who] are still adding capabilities to their space warfare fighting needs,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose two parties are working together, so you need to be concerned.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said China wants to equal dominance to the US in space in the near term.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you lose the space fight, you lose the fight, basically. We used to say that in terms of airpower during World War II. If you lose control of the air, you lose very quickly. If you lose control of space nowaways, you lose control of your terrestrial operations very quickly,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u2018These are here and now issues\u2019<\/p>\n
Major General Gregory Novak, who heads Australia\u2019s Space Command, told news.com.au the country is a serious player in the space domain.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom a defence perspective, I look at an Integrated Investment Program and I see $9 to $12 billion identified for space capability uplift and clear direction on those future force priorities of resilient satellite communications, enhanced space domain awareness, space control and geospatial intelligence uplift. I think they are things that show how serious we are in the game,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Major General Novak said Space Command also launched a new workstream where cadets will undergo continuous specialist space training, a progression in rank, as well as good promotional and pay opportunities that will allow them to pursue a career in space. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s going to give us that deep technical mastery that\u2019s going to allow us to make sure, again, we\u2019re not just doing space for space\u2019s sake. We\u2019ve got space professionals who are delivering on their mission sets for the benefit and the advantage of the wider integrated force,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The decorated general, who previously led the Australian Army\u2019s 6th Brigade, said his department was focused on deterring Australia\u2019s enemies in space and would continue to work with the US and other allies to call out malevolent actors.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese aren\u2019t esoteric or philosophical future conceptual issues we\u2019re dealing with, these are here and now issues. We\u2019re making sure that we are posturing ourselves to deal with not just the future force of laying that foundation, but also to make sure that we\u2019re in a position to do what we need to do today and tomorrow,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Major General Novak admitted the pace of technological advances in the space domain kept him up at night.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think a constant question that any leader or any strategist in space should be asking themselves is, are we moving fast enough?\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that\u2019s a good question to ask, a good lens to have on things, because it will identify the opportunities where you can get after things that matter to you most.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thankfully, Australia has \u201ca lot of building blocks\u201d to transform our space capabilities, Mr van Haren said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a lot of good research and development that has come out of our universities and gone to small companies that, when you add it all up, can create a capability.\u201d<\/p>\n
Read related topics:China<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Chinese and Russian space weapons could leave Australia \u201cdeaf, dumb, and blind\u201d at the beginning of a war,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":754233,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[64,63,75,128],"class_list":["post-754232","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-environment","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/754232","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=754232"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/754232\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/754233"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=754232"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=754232"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=754232"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}