#SPACE WARFARE TIMELINE HOW TO#

If that happened, the Defense Department would have to decide how to respond to that threat. Those questions are now being debated as Space Command develops what Shaw describes as “space warfighting doctrine.” A laser blinding a satellite is just an example of the types of attacks the U.S. “But how do we change that? How do we make it more difficult for a potential adversary to think they could succeed in depriving us of our space capabilities?” John Hyten, the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, “likes to talk about satellites as being ‘big fat juicy targets.’”

“It is impossible to overstate the importance of space-based systems to national security,” Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said in a keynote speech at the symposium. But as the Pentagon has grown increasingly dependent on space, satellites are becoming strategic assets and coveted targets for adversaries. Military space assets like satellites and ground systems typically have been considered “support” equipment that provide valuable services such as communications, navigation data and early warning of missile launches. satellites from attacks and figuring out how to respond if hostile acts do occur. This puts Space Command in charge of protecting U.S. Space Command is responsible for military operations in the space domain, which starts at the Kármán line, some 100 kilometers (62 miles) above the Earth’s surface. The space battlefield is not science fiction and anti-satellite weapons are going to be a reality in future armed conflicts, Shaw said at the recent 36th Space Symposium in Colorado Springs. Credit: Tom Kimmell Photography Credit: Tom Kimmell Photography If a satellite came under attack, depending on the circumstances, “the appropriate measures can be taken,” said Lt. This is one scenario that military officials and civilian leaders fear could lead to escalation and wider conflict as rival nations like China and Russia step up development and deployments of anti-satellite weapons. spy satellite, blinding its sensors and denying the United States critical eyes in the sky. Two Mariner probes travel to Venus.A ship in the Pacific Ocean carrying a high-power laser takes aim at a U.S. The first successful interplanetary probes are launched. John Glenn orbits earth in a capsule packed with so much equipment there is sitting room only. February 1962 – First American to orbit Earth Russian Yuri Gagarin becomes the first man to orbit Earth. The Vanguard 2 satellite is used by scientists to forecast the weather. February 1959 – First weather satellite launched Successful launch of Luna 1 by the Russians, which sees the rocket fly past the moon. January 1959 – Russian Luna 1 probe to Moon The United States formally organises its space programme and calls it National Aeronautics and Space Administration. New Zealander Sir William Pickering is director of JPL. Jet Propulsion Laboratories launch Explorer 1, America’s first satellite. January 1958 – First American satellite launches This marks the first significant success of the space race between the world’s two superpowers. The Soviet Union launches the first Earth-orbiting artificial satellite. 4 October 1957 – First satellite – Sputnik 1 Missiles like Redstone, Atlas and Titan would eventually launch astronauts into space.

1950s – Intercontinental ballistic missilesĪ variety of medium and long-range missiles are developed and become the starting point of the US space programme. Little was known of the atmosphere before this. With the help of captured German rocket engineers, the United States begins using V-2 rockets as sounding rockets to make measurements of the atmosphere at high altitudes. This is the first rocket capable of reaching space. They burn a mixture of oxygen and alcohol at a rate of 1 ton every 7 seconds.

1942 – V-2 rocketsīallistic missiles are developed by German engineers led by Wernher Von Braun during the Second World War. 1929 – First manned rocket flightįritz von Opel became the first person to fly a rocket-propelled plane in Germany – the Opel RAK.1. Goddard goes on to build bigger rockets and higher rockets. In March 1926 American Robert H Goddard flies a rocket powered by liquid oxygen and gasoline. 1926 – Successful liquid-propellant rocket He suggests liquid propellants would gain greater range. Russian schoolteacher Konstantin Tsiokovsky puts forward the idea of using rockets for space exploration. Jet vents are designed on an angle, making the rocket spin, much like a bullet, making them more stable and accurate. Rockets are subsequently designed for military use by the British military. Indian rockets used against the British catch the attention of Colonel William Congreve.

Space warfare timeline