America Needs Spaceplanes Now, and Space-Based Missile Defenses As Soon as Possible
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By Norm Haller & Peter Pry
May 14, 2020
April of 2020 was a busy month in space for Iran and Russia, the former launching its first military satellite that now flies over America in a south-to-north orbit similar to North Korea’s two satellites, and Russia launching a direct-ascent satellite-killer (anti-satellite, or ASAT) missile.
These events came a year after India’s ASAT missile demonstration, which followed earlier Chinese ASAT testing. [1] Air-launched ASATs are also possible. [2] Are North Korean and Iranian ASAT “tests†just around the corner?
In February, two Russian satellites were reported to be closely “observing†a secret U.S. satellite, thus illustrating capability for a space-based ASAT attack. The Space Force called this “unusual and disturbing†and potentially “dangerous.†[3] Other U.S. responses were (for Iran) “a cover for nuclear weapons advancement†[4] and (for Russia’s ASAT missile) a Space Force commitment “to deterring aggression and defending the Nation†[5].
https://www.realcleardefense.com/articles/2020/05/14/america_needs_space_planes_now_and_space-based_missile_defenses_as_soon_as_possible_115286.html
