JUST IN: Seizure of Satellites Presented as Option to Defend U.S. Spacecraft
4/15/2021
By Mandy Mayfield
To defend U.S. space systems, the military could utilize on-orbit vehicles to physically seize satellites that pose a threat, an analyst said April 15.
Pentagon officials have grown increasingly concerned in recent years about the vulnerability of spacecraft to anti-satellite weapons, which could include an adversary's use of its own satellites to hit and damage U.S. spacecraft. They are also worried about the growing amount of debris in space as that domain becomes more congested.
An option for space-based "active defense" measures would be to leverage "the ability to grab another object in space — an uncooperative object — and take it to a safe orbit or safely dispose of it so it no longer poses a threat,†Todd Harrison, director of the aerospace security project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said during a panel discussion hosted by CSIS.
https://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/articles/2021/4/15/seizure-of-satellites-could-serve-as-option-to-defend-us-spacecraft
