By Kevin Clark
December 1 Hollywood
What holds this country together is invisible to us, we can’t see nor hear it but holy dependent upon for American way of living. What is surprising is that it’s pretty much defenseless, and both Russia and China are developing weaponry to be deployed in space and assault these systems.
A CNN special, War In Space , illustrated that the U.S. military is preparing for a space war, but that progress is slow compared to the Russian kamikaze satellites that can position themselves next to a target and destroy them on command, or the Chinese device which sports a grappling arm to pluck a satellite out of orbit. This is alarming, and Tamar and U believe our nation’s youth should be clued-in so that they can draw their own conclusions.
At risk are not only commercial communications satellites but sensitive military and early warning satellites which are crucial to operations during conflicts on the ground. Should there be a major outbreak of hostilities here on earth, it’s likely that the war in space would immediately commence, placing all of us in danger and disrupting our lives.
CNN suggests a worst-case scenario in which a crippling cyber attack, in conjunction with space attacks, could take down the Internet, cellular systems, and most forms of communications. Although any cyber attack that brings down the Internet would likely bring down the Internet globally, so it’s hard to imagine any major power undertaking such an assault. In the event of satellite loss, television network programming would be disrupted, but local television transmission could continue, and radio on all bands, including radio navigation, would be unaffected. Cell phones use towers as opposed to satellites, and the telephone landline infrastructure is still in place. So while the loss of satellite communication would be disruptive, especially in regard to systems dependent upon GPS satellites, we wouldn’t suddenly find ourselves living like Mad Max.
The US Air Force Space command monitors foreign military satellites and space activity but possesses no means of defense against any potential destruction from adversaries. The Pentagon’s space budget is $22 billion annually. Currently, defenses in the pipeline include laser weapons and space drones.
Space war may not be inevitable, but it is plausible. Given the state of international affairs here on earth, we may someday look up to witness the ominous sight of lasers shooting across the sky.
Stay tuned as I canvass the student editorial staff for their response to this report.