French Media: "Star Wars" Has Already Begun

Reference News Network reported on September 12 The French newspaper "Echo" published an article on September 8, titled "Suicide Satellites, 'Space Tangles,' and Sabotage: The Star Wars Have Already Begun," authored by Anne Driff. The translation is as follows:

In space, the war has already begun.

In November 2021, Russia used a direct ascent anti-satellite missile to destroy the aging electronic reconnaissance satellite "Cosmos-1408," creating 1,800 pieces of debris and hundreds of thousands of micro-particles. Astronauts on the International Space Station were forced to take refuge in the emergency return capsule.

This strike triggered "unprecedented unity" among the Western camp: with support from France, the United States attempted to pass a resolution in the United Nations to ban such tests.

Since then, Moscow has continuously improved its space arsenal and has taken more direct deterrent actions: a series of "Cosmos" satellites were launched from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome, which quickly changed orbits to approach the Finnish "IceEye" commercial satellite constellation that provides radar imagery to Ukraine.

Routine space confrontations also include navigation signal jamming, known as "navigation warfare." Since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, such actions have increased exponentially. The French Space Command stated, "Ukraine and most countries in Central Europe and the Baltic are affected by these interferences."

All of this is combined with cyberattacks, which can completely paralyze systems. The largest offensive was Moscow's attack on the ground station of the KA-SAT satellite network operated by the American company Viasat on the first day of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, causing tens of thousands of households to lose internet access, with the effects spilling over into Ukraine's borders. A French Space Force officer commented, "The conflict between Russia and Ukraine truly began in space."

Victoria Samson, an expert from the Space Security and Stability Department of the Secure World Foundation, said, "This attack sparked intense discussions within NATO: Does a space attack trigger NATO's fifth collective defense clause?"

NATO has already included space in its collective defense framework since 2019, meaning that an attack on the space of any member country is equivalent to an attack on all member countries. However, Ukraine is not a NATO member and cannot invoke this clause.

The threshold for triggering the fifth clause is also quite vague. Must the attack come solely from space, ground, or sea? No one knows. The French Space Command stated that offensive actions in space, regardless of their extent, "do not violate any international regulations because in space... there are almost no regulations."

As for the issue of nuclear explosions in space, Samson calmly analyzed the consequences: "The U.S. and the Soviet Union conducted related tests during the Cold War, and the consequences were completely uncontrollable. Most satellites in low Earth orbit would fail instantly, regardless of friend or foe, all countries' satellites would be affected."

On the issue of space warfare, the differences in positions between Europe and the United States are becoming increasingly apparent. The U.S. stance is becoming more hardline, with diplomatic concessions no longer in existence. This spring, the U.S. Space Command released two program documents, formally establishing the U.S. military's approach to space operations.

The French Space Command interpreted: "The U.S. documents strongly advocate unrestricted offensive operations, defining space as a 'theater of war,' with the priority of international rules significantly pushed back. This line of thinking was laid during Trump's first term; in his second term, under the 'America First' orientation, it became even more belligerent."

France, on the other hand, insists on a different path: "We defend responsible behavior in space and uphold the peaceful use of space, even as the U.S. begins to question this."

Samson emphasized that this is an exceptionally dangerous game: when the U.S. says space is a "theater of war," it is equivalent to sending a clear signal of combat.

However, the situation is even more complex. In addition to sovereign states, private commercial space giants are becoming an undeniable force in orbit, with the boundaries between military and civilian increasingly blurred. Billionaire entrepreneurs like Musk are essentially the contractors of a new era of space warfare.

The French Space Command explained: "Many commercial satellite constellations provide data to the military, and these private companies may no longer remain neutral. Russian President Putin is also aware of this. He has announced that companies serving the enemy may become targets." Musk's "Starlink" is a typical case.

Blaiden Bowen, an associate professor of astropolitics at Durham University, said, "Countries like the U.S. are beginning to realize that these private companies may become targets." (Translation/ Pan Ge Ping)