The Pentagon will develop in space the scenario of rapid deployment of the satellite orbital group in response to the threat from spacecraft of a potential enemy. During the exercises, the American military will also include two satellites that will be developed specifically for this mission by private aviation companies. In this way, the United States wants to not only “send a signal” to other countries that they can quickly counter “orbital aggression”, but also to show exactly how to do it.

In recent years, some states, including the United States and Russia, have been hinting, although not openly, at their intention to use space for military purposes and trying to increase their “space power” in every possible way. They do not mention the direct deployment of weapons into space (this is prohibited by treaties), but these countries are developing and deploying combat systems that can operate on satellites. Such weapons include special GPS jamming systems, lasers that can disrupt satellites, anti-satellite missiles, spy satellites, and weapons that blind spacecraft. Many experts are confident that space will most likely become the main battlefield in future conflicts.

Such a space arms race, if you can call it that, constantly increases the “degree” of threats, which forces the military to simultaneously look for ways to quickly respond to these challenges. One option is to create a fleet of military satellites that can protect valuable devices in orbit. However, before using such a fleet, it needs to be tested in real conditions.

The US space force announced the other day that it will conduct the first military exercises in space; This means the Pentagon needs to show how it will counter “orbital aggression.”

During the exercise called Victus Haze, the army will implement a realistic scenario of quickly reacting to threats in space. It included two spacecraft created by private aerospace companies Rocket Lab and True Anomaly. The first device will play the role of a “defender” in orbit, the second will be a “suspicious object” that appears to be a satellite of a potential enemy, such as China or Russia. The Pentagon signed a contract with these companies to develop devices worth $32 million and $30 million, respectively.

According to the plan, True Anomaly will be the first to be notified when training begins and will collect the payload and launch it into the target orbit within 12-84 hours. The company will most likely use the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket for this. The True Anomaly device, which will probably be the size of a large refrigerator, will be integrated into the overall payload. So SpaceX will not specifically put a single satellite into orbit. The mission will launch from either Cape Canaveral Spaceport in Florida or Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

After this launch, the Space Force will notify the Rocket Lab that their part of the mission has begun. The company needs to assemble its device, similar in size to True Anomaly, and launch it into target orbit within 24 hours. Rocket Lab will do this with an ultralight Electron-class launch vehicle from a spaceport in New Zealand or Virginia.

Once in orbit, Rocket Lab’s device will instantly begin tracking the “suspicious object” (True Anomaly’s satellite), which will be extremely maneuverable. He will be able to approach the “Guardian”, move away from it, and also perform “unusual and unexpected actions” that were not specified in the Space Force statement. Note that the “defender” itself will be just as maneuverable.

The task of the Rocket Laboratory device is to carefully examine the “suspicious object”, that is, determine what it is and respond in case of an attack. Again, the Space Force’s statement did not specify what protective actions the Rocket Lab satellite could perform. Private aviation companies’ equipment won’t be ready until fall 2025, so training will likely take place in late 2025.

The Victus Haze mission is part of the Tactical Responsive Space (TacRS) program to develop more maneuverable space systems that can be quickly launched into orbit. In 2023, during this program, the US Space Force launched the Victus Nox mission together with private space company Firefly Aerospace; this demonstrated that the United States could prepare for launch and deliver a payload in less than 60 hours from the time of need.

Firefly Aerospace mounted the spacecraft on its Firefly Alpha small-class launch vehicle and successfully launched it 27 hours after receiving the mission signal from the Space Force. That’s quite a feat in an industry where satellites take years to build and rockets take weeks or months to plan and prepare for launch. In other words, the Pentagon is working to ensure that the response to the real threat of losing an American satellite is rapid and effective.