This program concludes a series of interviews with Dr. Nick Begich, the author (along with Jeane Manning) of Angels Don’t Play this HAARP: Advances in Tesla Technology (soft-cover edition, Earthpulse Press, copyright 1995.) Termed “a revolution in military affairs,” this technology offers a number of different and, in some cases, terrifying possibilities. After a reading of Dr. Begich’s farewell letter to his supporters and collaborators (he’s moving on to other projects), the discussion centers on the untimely and, to a certain extent, mysterious death of Gael Flannagan, one of Dr. Begich’s close friends and sources of inspiration. Prior to her death, Ms. Flannagan had been warning Dr. Begich that she felt it was time for him to move on to other projects. Most of the broadcast is a review and synopsis of material presented in the previous four interviews with Dr. Begich, available from Spitfire. (Recorded in January of 1999.)
For The Record
FTR #128 Interview V with Dr. Nick Begich
Discussion
3 comments for “FTR #128 Interview V with Dr. Nick Begich”
Post a comment
The 99% Dynamic
Fascism and the Dangers of Economic Concentration 1980 broadcast highlights economic concentration and its historical relationship to fascism. Read more »
- Spitfire List is licensed under Creative Commons.
Danger! Russian nukes in orbit! That was the general message the American public got following a wave of alarming reports about a new diabolical Russian plot to put some sort of nuclear device in orbit. Or, rather, reports about an alarmed Republican Rep. Mike Turner of Ohio, the chair of the House Intelligence Committee, who decided to take this story public.
So is Russia about to launch some sort of space-based nuclear launch system? Nope. But there are plans to put a nuclear-powered EMP device in orbit, potentially as soon as some time this year according to unnamed government sources. That’s the story that’s emerging, which Russia denies entirely. And while the veracity of these claims remains extremely unclear, it’s worth noting that a story like this is something we probably should have expected given the ongoing militarization of the low-earth orbit (LEO) space thanks to the SpaceX Starlink cluster of thousands of microsatellites.
As we’re going to see, it’s primarily the LEO satellites that are seen as vulnerable here. Higher orbit satellites, like GPS or nuclear command and control satellites, are often shielded against nuclear blasts and expected to withstand an EMP attack. Satellites in LEO, on the other hand, tend not to have such protections, especially the thousands of relatively small and light microsatellites that make up the Starlink cluster. But it’s not just Starlink’s satellites operating in the LEO space. Military satellites like high-resolution spy satellites and situation awareness satellites are also often found in lower orbits.
An orbital EMP attack could be a very big deal, militarily speaking. So in terms of the possibilities, it’s not hard to see why the US government might be concerned about Russia’s research in this area. But with US intelligence indicating that Russia is still developing this and actually preparing to launch it, the question of why the head of the US House Intelligence Committee decided to raise public alarm about this kind of scenario remains. Especially since, as we’re also going to see, this public disclosure apparently enraged intelligence officials because the intelligence was based on extremely sensitive sources that could now be compromised. What’s the motive here?
But let’s also not forget about one of the other major catastrophes that will now logically follow any sort of orbital EMP event: Kessler syndrome. You can’t disable all of those LEO satellites without inducing massive numbers of collisions. Recall how Starlink is predicated on the idea that its satellites won’t have independent orbits but instead will have to be ready to adjust course when necessarily. Orbital adjustments that won’t be an option after an EMP fries the satellites hardware. Interestingly, we see an oblique reference to Kessler syndrome from one of the unnamed US officials quoted in the following CNN piece, who points out how, “It’s not a new concept and, as a concept, dates back to the late Cold War....the big fear with any eventual EMP device in orbit [is] it might render large portions of particular orbits unusable” by creating a minefield of disabled satellites that “would then prove dangerous to any new satellites we might try to put up to replace or repair the existing satellites.” This official didn’t use the term Kessler syndrome, but that’s what they were describing.
Will Russia be willing to use an orbital EMP that could induce a Kessler syndrome scenario? Presumably only as a last resort since Kessler syndrome could impact the satellites of Russia and its allies too. But with Starlink only set to grow in scope (don’t forget it’s not even close to its goals of 42k satellites), it’s not hard to imagine Russia really is working on such a device. After, as that unnamed US official also indicate, this is a long-known form of nuclear attack that dates back to the Cold War. Of course, one major difference between the Cold War and today is the sheer volume of satellites in LEO, which is only poised to explode in coming years. Starlink didn’t exist even a decade ago, not all its competitors to come. The risk of Kessler syndrome is only growing.
And that brings us to another very fascinating angle about this whole uproar over the possibility of orbital EMP attacks. Because when the US was looking into this possibility a decade ago, the focus appeared to be less on Kessler syndrome and more on another consequence of any sort of orbital nuclear event. Radiation that lingers in orbit, potentially damaging satellites much like the debris of Kessler syndrome. While radiation from high-earth orbits tends to dissipate within days, LEOs are particularly vulnerable to lingering radiation that can last for years. But US researchers had a rather exotic tool was proposed as a possible solution: HAARP. Yep, the High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) up in Alaska was proposed as a means of knocking the LEO radiation out of orbit as a kind of post-nuclear atmospheric scrubbing service.
That’s all part of the fascinating context around what is still kind of a mystery: why did the chair of the House Intelligence Committee risk a highly sensitive source to make this story public? We don’t know. But we can be pretty sure it has a lot to do with the incredible orbital risk created by the US’s decision to allow for the creation of a militarized Starlink satellite constellation that didn’t exist a decade ago:
“This kind of new weapon — known generally by military space experts as a nuclear EMP — would create a pulse of electromagnetic energy and a flood of highly charged particles that would tear through space to disrupt other satellites winging around Earth.”
An orbital EMP. That appears to be the general design of the new Russian super-weapon that had Republican Rep. Mike Turner of Ohio, the chair of the House Intelligence Committee, whipped up into such a state of alarm. A weapon still under development. So why the immediate alarm? That’s unclear, but it’s pretty obvious which part of the US’s orbital infrastructure Rep Turner and others are going to be most concerned about: the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites. As experts warn, this kind of EMP attack has the potential to wipe out the entire mega-cluster. And not just disable the cluster but also create a minefield of disabled satellites “would then prove dangerous to any new satellites we might try to put up to replace or repair the existing satellites.” In other words, Kessler syndrome.
But this kind of threat also isn’t new and Russia’s reported device is still under development. Beyond that, intelligence officials are apparently livid over the story because this intelligence was based on a highly sensitive source. So what prompted the chair of the House Intelligence Committee to make this big public uproar? That’s still a mystery:
Also note which satellites are NOT at the same kind of risk from an EMP attack: the higher-orbit satellites like GPS or nuclear command and control satellites, which are designed to withstand a nuclear blast. This is really a LEO-targeting weapon. Of course, if Kessler syndrome is somehow induced in lower orbits, that could potentially impact satellites in higher orbit as debris is created and there may not be any way to safely launch replacements for failing high-orbit satellites. But in terms of immediate danger, it’s possible this EMP weapon could be used without, for example, disabling GPS services. Hopefully:
So is Russia planning on withdrawing from the Outer Space Treaty of 1967 before it launches this thing? Maybe, but this is probably a good time to recall how President Trump unilaterally withdrew from the INF treaty in 2019 and then in November of 2020 also withdrew the US from the Open Skies treaty. Also note that when Russia withdrew from the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) back in November of 2023, that was a treaty the US never ratified. There’s been quite a few changes to the global nuclear status quo lately and it’s not just Russia doing the changing:
Given all the apparent alarm over these developments, one might arrive at the conclusion that this is a new threat the US hasn’t faced before. But, of course, the possibility of space-based EMP attacks was part of Cold War and something the US military has studied for decades. What’s new in this situation is the presence of the Starlink satellite cluster that didn’t exist a decade ago. A cluster increasingly being used in military contexts against Russia. That’s the big orbital development in recent years. And let’s also not forget how Starlink is new in the sense that it doesn’t even bother to put all its satellites into independent orbits but instead relies on real-time orbital adjustments to avoid collisions...adjustments that obviously wouldn’t happen in the event of an EMP attack that fries the electronics. An EMP attack that disables Starlink — or any attack that disables Starlink for that matter — really could lead to a Kessler syndrome scenario simply as a result of disabling those orbital adjustment services that are now necessary thanks to the density of objects in this space.
But why the apparent sense of urgency on this matter? Is Russia planning on launching such a device soon? Yep, and it could happen as soon as this year. At least that’s what we were hearing from more unnamed US officials in reports this week. Russia denies working on any such device at all. And as the following Reuters article asks, it’s unclear why Russia would need to rely on something like a space EMP, risking setting off a nuclear space race, when it had plenty of conventional means of disabling low earth orbit satellites already. But, again, that just underscores the potential relevance of Starlink in this matter. One of the major selling points of Starlink is its ability to continue operating even if large numbers of individual satellites are taken down. Perhaps conventional means of disabling satellites aren’t good enough in the age of microsatellites clusters and we’re looking at the response:
“Bloomberg on Tuesday reported Russia could deploy a nuclear weapon or a mock warhead into space as early as this year. It also cited unnamed sources as saying the United States believes Russia does not plan to detonate a device but that there was risk of an accidental explosion, disabling scores of satellites.”
The device could be launched as soon as this year. That’s what we’re hearing from more anonymous sources, which is presumably the basis for the apparent urgency. And while the US doesn’t believe Russia has plans to detone such a device, it’s the risk of an accident that has them concerned. Russia, in turn, denies all reports of working on any such device at all.
But then we get this important question raised in the article: why would such a device be needed at all when Russia presumably has plenty of conventional means of disabling LEO satellites. And why risk setting off some sort of nuclear space race with the US and China? It’s a reminder that this is the kind of story the US, or China, could use as a pretext for launching space nukes of their own, whether the story is based on real intelligence or not. But also keep in mind that the emergence of Starlink really has changed the game in terms of orbital military gamesmanship. Starlink’s strategic value is in how it can still work even if large numbers of individual satellites are disabled. An orbital EMP device might be deemed militarily necessary in that case if the whole cluster needs to be shut down somehow. And, in turn, an orbital EMP device perhaps wouldn’t be seen as necessary had the US not unilaterally allowed for one of its key defense contractors, Space X, to create Starlink in the first place:
Are we looking at a real story? A story about the consequences of Starlink and the military advantages it promises upsetting the orbital balance enough to provoke Russian space nukes? Or are we looking at another attempt to hype up the tensions or maybe even give the US an excuse to launch a counter space-nuke of its own? Time will tell as always. But it’s not like orbital EMPs are a new kind of danger. If we see a nuclear space race emerge, it’s something the US has spent a lot time thinking about already. Many decades. With decades of research already under its belt.
So, to get an idea of the US’s thinking on these matters pre-Starlink, here’s a 2014 piece in Foreign Policy discussing exactly these concerns. Concerns primarily focused on LEO satellites since, as the article notes, most high-orbit satellites — like GPS or nuclear command and control satellites — have been hardened against EMP attacks. It’s the LEO satellites that are primarily at risk. And while hardening LEO satellites is an option, it’s an expensive one that makes those satellites larger, heavier, and therefore more expensive to produce and launch.
As the article also notes, the consequences of an EMP attack wouldn’t necessarily just be immediate. Unlike high-orbits, where radiation tends to dissipate within days, lower orbits can retain that radiation in orbit for years. But there’s one very fascinating potential solution for at least removing the radiation that would be stuck in low orbit: HAARP. Yes, the US’s HAARP facility up in Alaska could potentially be used to effectively knock the radiation in low orbit back down to earth:
“While most low-earth-orbit satellites would avoid being immediately knocked out by an EMP, the presence of radiation exposure over the long term is a “serious long-term hazard” that “could seriously hamper any war effort, particularly in remote regions,” the agency noted in a 2010 report.”
As that 2010 US government report reminds us, the threat of an EMP attack on the US’s satellites crippling US military capabilities is not a new threat. Nor is it the only threat. Recall how solar storms have already knocked out Starlink satellites. Which is also a reminder that, should an EMP attack end up disabling the Starlink cluster, it will be an attack that potentially could have been at least partially mitigated against if the cluster was properly protected against the solar storms we know are just a matter of time:
Also note how the of military satellites that tend to be in low orbit include high-resolution satellites and situational awareness. In other words, if we do ever see a major disruption of LEO satellites, the alarm this will induce in government will be exacerbated by the fact that their orbital ‘eyes and ears’ are going to be out of commission:
And then we get to this fascinating detail in this 2014 piece: higher-orbit satellites might still be at risk of shortened lifespans due to the elevated levels of radiation in orbit. But it’s the lower orbits where the radiation will be far more intense. And yet, there’s a potential solution for scrubbing that radiation out of lower orbits: the HAARP array, which can potentially be used to ‘scrub the magnetosphere’:
Pretty neat if it works. Neat, although unless HAARP can also somehow knock all the shrapnel and other debris that would get created by a Kessler syndrome event, it’s not really going to address the full problem. But still, pretty neat. And as the following 2009 piece in Wired describes, the original vision for HAARP included a lot more than just scrubbing the skies of post-nuclear radiation. The original sales pitch to the US government included the promise that HAARP would be able to pump the atmosphere with enough radiation that it could actually knock out incoming Soviet ICBMs. It doesn’t sound like those capabilities were ever demonstrated. But scrubbing the skies of radiation following a nuclear orbital event does appear to be a use case they saw as plausible:
“Bringing Haarp to fruition was, well, complicated. A group of scientists had to cozy up to a US senator, cut deals with an oil company, and convince the Pentagon that the project might revolutionize war. Oh, and along the way they sparked enough conspiracy theories to make the place sound like an arctic Area 51.”
A revolution in warfare. That’s how HAARP was ultimately sold to the US government. The initial sale pitch was grand, with Bernard Eastlund, an ARCO physicist, suggesting that HAARP could be used to pump the ionosphere with radioactive particles that could knock out incoming Soviet missiles. It’s not clear it was a feasible idea, but that was the hook:
Not surprisingly, it was DARPA that first started investing in the idea with a feasibility study. Then came the congressional backing, largely thanks to Alaskan senator Ted Stevens. The promise, at that point, was advanced radar that could detect underground facilities or even contact deeply submerged submarines. HAARP is like a Swiss army knife of military applications:
Then Nick Begich took an interest, leading eventually to the broader public taking an interest after Begich self-published his book suggesting HAARP was a weapon prototype potentially powerful enough to trigger earthquakes:
Finally, we get to the late 90s, when HAARP was well over budget and in need of further justifications to keep going. What we’re the justifications they fell back on to keep the sponsors happy? Post-nuclear space cleanup. The idea being that HAARP could knock the radiation out of orbit back down to earth. The Pentagon loved it:
It’s worth noting that HAARP was transferred from the US Air Force to the the University of Alaska Fairbanks in 2014. It’s now officially just a civilian research station. But, in theory, it could perform this kind of sky-scrubbing service. Or, who knows, pump the sky full of radiation and create a kind of virtual EMP. HAARP is a versatile tool.
But, again, whether or not HAARP’s promised sky-scrubbing capabilities are real, there’s more than just radiation that’s going to need to be scrubbed from the LEO space in the event of an EMP attack. Or just a nasty solar storm. Or random orbital mishap that triggers a chain reaction. The more crowded earth’s orbital space gets, the more we’re going to have to worry about the inevitable day large amounts of debris have to be ‘scrubbed’ before that space is usable again. So let’s hope HAARP has debris-scrubbing capabilities we haven’t heard about yet. Because while we still don’t know why the chair of the House Intelligence Committee risked burning highly sensitive sources to make a big public stink about Russian space nukes, we do know what he was so alarmed about. The increasingly cluttered LEO space really is a cause for alarm. Growing alarm. It’s a disaster waiting to happen. With or without Russian space nukes.
Disinformation isn’t just an increasingly potent political tool. It’s a tribal gang sign. A means for individuals to demonstrate their loyalty to a cause. Disinformation, and claims are belief in disinformation is a powerful political organizing tool. A uniform for ideological armies.
Recall how that disinformation insight was made back in a 2008 blog post by none other than Curtis “Mencious Moldbug” Yarvin, writing ““To believe in nonsense is an unforgeable [sic] demonstration of loyalty. It serves as a political uniform. And if you have a uniform, you have an army.” An insight clearly taken heart by today’s Republican party. Most notably Donald Trump and his running JD Vance, himself an open Yarvin fan.
It’s not hard to find examples of this embrace of disinformation as a kind of uniform or show of loyalty. That’s more or less the cult dynamic of today’s GOP, with one elected official after another debasing themselves with an embrace of whatever nonsense Trump most recently uttered. But the drivers of disinformation as a political uniform aren’t limited to Trump’s status as a cult leader. There’s also the reality that technology has simply made disinformation far more appealing, whether we’re talking about the sheer influential power of social media to the reality-warping nature of deep rake technology and advanced AI image and video generation technologies. Compelling disinformation technology is simply more accessible and compelling than ever before and it’s only getting better at it.
Beyond that, there’s the reality that the steady advance of technological capacity increasingly makes the previously outlandish feel possible. For example, weather manipulation. While the weather has long held a kind of god-like power of human affairs, it’s no secret that basic weather manipulation technology has existed for decades. Cloud seeding isn’t exactly a secret. ’
But what about all the claims of secret weather manipulation technologies? Technologies like HAARP, that were literally sold to the US military under the pretense that weather could be controlled and even hurricanes generated and manipulated. As we’ve seen, redirecting hurricanes really was part of the sales pitch to the Pentagon for HAARP. And while it’s very unclear that HAARP ever developed that kind of capacity, it’s hard to entirely dismiss the possibility at this point.
At the same time, just because it’s possible technology has been developed to manipulation the intensity of direction of hurricane, that doesn’t mean every time you see a hurricane it should be just assumed that it was controlled by the government. To do so would be beyond idiotic. And yet, as we’re going to see, that’s exactly the what Congresswoman Marjorie Tayor Greene has been asserting recently, alleging that “they” directed Hurricane Helene towards Republican areas as part of some sort of electoral play in anticipation of the upcoming election. After making comments, JD Vance came out to praise MTG for being a “loyal person” and a “hell of a Congresswoman.”
But MTG’s hurricane manipulation antics were just one element in a much larger wave of Helene-related disinformation. As the following article describes, an AI-generated image of a young girl sitting in a boat clenching a puppy has gone viral on conservative social media as evidence of the Biden administration’s alleged abandonment of Helene’s victims. The image is being spread along with the narrative that assistance is being withheld from victims in order to give the relief money to illegal immigrants instead. This is, of course, highly resonant with the messaging we’ve already been getting about Haitian migrants stealing and eating pets in Springfield, Ohio. A meme JD Vance has been to consciously amplifying that originated from the neo-Nazi group Blood Tribe. And now we have the GOP en mass going all in on the ‘Hurricane victim relief is being taken to give to illegal migrants’ narrative. A line straight of out Blood Tribe’s playbook.
But this story about hurricane disinformation has another twist that should be noted: it turns out there’s one individual with weirdly potent credentials when it comes to HAARP-related hurricanes who is actually running for Congress this year under the MAGA banner. That would be Nick Begich III, son of Nick Begich Jr, the author of Angels Don’t Play this HAARP: Advances in Tesla Technology. Yes, Nick Begich III — who hails for an Alaskan political dynasty that includes a number of prominent Democrats — is making his third run for Alaska’s House seat. And he’s got Donald Trump’s endorsement, although, as we’ll see, Trump actually initially endorsed his primary opponent. Still, in terms of the GOP’s embrace of disinformation, and in particular climate change-related disinformation, it’s a fascinating potential development that we could see the son of Nick Begich Jr enter Congress as a MAGA lunatic. Because as is becoming clear, hurricane-related disinformation is only only going to get stronger as the winds of fascism continue to heat up...along with all the climate change:
“The AI-generated image they’re sharing depicts a crying girl in a boat, seemingly alone except for the little dog she’s clutching. She wears a lifejacket and appears to be adrift on floodwaters caused by a major storm. Sen. Mike Lee of Utah posted the picture on X on Thursday, writing “Caption this photo,” apparently inviting his followers to vent their outrage at the Biden-Harris administration for allowing American children to suffer such misery on their watch. After users pointed out that he’d fallen for AI slop, he deleted the picture. (The image originated on the Trump web forum Patriots.win, where several users immediately recognized it as the product of an AI model.)”
AI trickery wins again. Although, as we can see with all the bad faith responses after this was revealed to be an AI image, the AI didn’t really win so much as the humans just refused play in good faith. Humans like CNP member Amy Kremer, who seemed entirely unperturbed by the fact that the image wasn’t a real photo. As we’ve seen, Amy Kremer also happens to be one of the individuals who played a key role in organizing the various ‘Stop the Steal’ rallies that culminated in the January 6 Capitol insurrection. Recall how Amy and her daughter Kylie Kremer reportedly expressed concerns about the extremists associated with Ali Alexander’s “Wild Protest” and the risk of violence. They reached an agreement to allow the Ellipse rally to be the only rally scheduled for Jan 6. But then the Kremers observed that the planning for the Alexander/Jones rally appeared to be ongoing so they brought these concerns up with White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows. The Kremers also purchased several burner phones in the days leading up to the insurrection which were used to communicate with White House figures like Eric Trump, Lara Trump, Katrina Pierson, and Mark Meadows. So when we see her casually brushing off the fact that this was an AI-generated image, keep in mind that Amy Kremer is someone very familiar with how extensive fascist cosplaying can get:
But the AI-generated imagery is really just one element of the larger gaslighting at work here, with the Trump himself serving as gaslighter-in-chief with is claims of FEMA funds being taken from hurricane relief efforts to give to “illegal migrants”. Much like JD Vance’s decision to consciously amplify a fake meme about Hatians eating pets that originated from the neo-Nazi group Blood Tribe. It’s a chilling reminder of how AI’s ability to deceive synergizes exceedingly well with the fascist impulse to distort reality. Fascist AI really is the future. Humanity can help it:
And that brings us to the next example of that fascist impulse synergizing with advanced technology. In this case, it was Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene — of “Jewish Space Lasers” fame — voicing suspicions that Hurricane Helene was not just amplified using weather manipulation technology but somehow directed toward Republican dominant areas to unleash its destruction. In other words, MTG is asserting the US has hurricane steering technologies in addition to hurricane amplification technology. And using that technology to punish Republican voters in advance of the 2024 election. And, of course, JD Vance proceeded to heap praises of MTG following those comments, calling her a “loyal person” and a “hell of a Congresswoman”:
“Senator JD Vance had kind words for Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene — just hours after she suggested that a mysterious “they” can control the weather and inflicted Hurricane Helene on Republican voters in Georgia and North Carolina.”
MTG neglected to clarify who exactly “they” are in this scenario, although we can presume it’s the same people behind the Jewish space lasers. Regardless, JD Vance was clearly impressed with her display of loyalty:
So with all this hurricane-related disinformation gripping the GOP, and more hurricanes on the way, there’s a grimly interesting question forming over Alaska’s congressional race: how long before Nick Begich III gets dragged into the hurricane disinformation maelstrom?:
“Two years ago, Trump endorsed Republican former Gov. Sarah Palin in her unsuccessful U.S. House race against Peltola. In June, when Trump endorsed Dahlstrom, he claimed that Begich “has Democratic tendencies” and accused him of throwing the 2022 race to Peltola.”
Ouch. Trump declared Nick Begich III had “Democratic tendencies” and even accused him of throwing the 2022 race to his Democratic opponent. And then, belatedly, Begich gets that Trump endorsement last month.
We’ll see if he ends up winning his third attempt to get this seat. But if he does win, it’s hard to ignore the fact that few people have more of a hurricane-manipulation-related family pedigree than Nick Begich III. So we have to ask, will Nick Begich III be ‘loyal’ enough to say what his dear leader wants said about hurricane manipulations? Time will tell. But at this point it’s clear: if you want to join the MAGA army, you better be on board with the partisan manipulation of hurricanes. It’s how you show you’re loyal. Or at least one part of the uniform of loyalty. You really have to be willing to go along with basically anything that comes out of Trump’s mouth. Including unpleasant stances on cannibalism, for example. It’s not necessarily to the easiest uniform to fit into, but it’s not like there’s a choice. Which, of course, is all part of the loyalty.
The next four years are undoubtedly going to be a tumultuous chapter for the United States. Sure, some of the damage to be done will be reversible. But not all of it. Which brings us to the following piece of Ars Technica about one of those major changes to how the United States operates that could prove to be exceedingly difficult to reverse. Especially after the MADness takes hold:
The US Space Force is dropping the mask. Space is officially a battlefield. No longer does its leadership tip-toe around public discussions of the plans to fight and win battles in space. Those plans are now out in the open. In fact, as we’re going to see, being open about Space Forces plans to fight and win the space battles of the future is part of the plan for maintaining space supremacy. Because it turns out fighting in space has a lot in common with nuclear war in that it’s much easier to go on the offensive than the defensive. As such, having a credible offensive threat is now seen as part of the defense. As General Chance Saltzman, the top general at Space Force, told the audience at this week’s Space Force Association’s Spacepower Conference, “Space is a war-fighting domain...Ten years ago, I couldn’t say that. That’s the starting point. Think about that. In 2014, we had senior leaders start to talk about space and war in the same sentence. They got kind of berated by the senior leadership. So this is still a relatively new condition when we’re talking about war-fighting in space. I don’t think we should underestimate the power of that.” It really is a new age for warfare.
And that talk is going well beyond just characterizing space as a new war-fighting domain. As Saltzman to Ars Technica, Space Force is working on a range of defensive measures, including a reliance on “resiliency”, a reference to the mega-constellations of satellites like Starlink and the Pentagon version, Starshield. But it sounds like there’s plans for more active defensive measures, like roving “defender” satellites that could be stationed near high value assets. How would these defender satellites work? Well, they would defend against attacking satellites that the Pentagon fears adversaries are developing. Offensive satellites that could literally move up next to an enemy satellite and either take control or render it inoperable. It’s a glimpse into the vision for space-based war planners are already thinking about. Special mobile offensive satellites and defender satellites that could protect them. Or maybe a dual use offensive/defensive satellite. That’s part of this future. On top of all the mega-constellations, which presumably won’t need defender satellites because they are treated as effectively disposable.
Other offensive anti-satellite capabilities include hacking them or directed energy attacks, potentially launched from the ground. And then there’s a form of attack that doesn’t appear to really have an active defensive measure: antisatellite weapons (ASATs) likes missiles. As the article reminds us, while ASATs like missiles are relatively low-tech and effective, they come with the risks associated with all the debris they produce. Debris that, as we’ve seen, is a recipe for the Kessler Syndrome space junk cascade nightmare scenario.
Now, as we saw back in February with the reports of US fears that Russia is developing an anti-satellite EMP weapon that could disable entire mega-constellations. As the following article notes, while the US has stated that, if Russia places an EMP weapon in orbit it would violate Article IV of the 1967 Outer Space Treaty that bans weapons of mass destruction in space, Russia actually proposed at the UN this year a resolution that would ban ALL weapons in space. That resolution was vetoed by the US, with US officials saying that Russia has already tested an ASAT in orbit. Which isn’t actually a reason for opposing such a ban, if you think about, especially since the US has obviously tested ASAT technology too over the decades. Of course, the unstated reason the US would oppose such a resolution is basically the message Space Force has now decided to publicly deliver to the world: the US is planning on space-based military supremacy and that’s the simple reality of it.
Interestingly, according to John Plumb, the former assistant secretary of defense for space policy, if the Russian EMP weapon was to be used, it’s expected to render low-Earth orbit unusable for a year or more, with some satellites knocked out from the initial EMP blast while the remaining satellites are steadily damaged from the resulting orbital radiation. This is a good time to recall how Starlink relies in part on automated orbital adjustments to avoid collisions, so if the Starlink satellites lose the ability to adjust their orbits we should expect numerous collisions to ensue. Which, again, is a recipe for Kessler Syndrome and also a reminder that the predictions that low-earth orbits will clear up after a year could be considered optimistic. This is also a good time to recall how one of promised benefits of HAARP was its potential ability to scrub the atmosphere of radiation in the event of a nuclear war. Yes, HAARP could very much be part of this envisioned future of warfare. Or at least for the envisioned post-conflict clean up effort.
Now, it is true that low-orbit space debris will eventually fall into the atmosphere and burn, but let’s not forget how a mass-de-orbiting event like that is also a recipe for the destruction of the earth’s ozone layer as all those Aluminium-heavy satellites burn up. In other words, you might not want to go outside during that year or more of orbital chaos.
But for all the clamoring about a Russian orbital EMP, it sounds like China’s space warfare capabilities are what is concerning the Pentagon the most these days. In particular, China’s growing ability to replicate the US’s use of satellites to bolster land, air, and naval forces. It sounds like countering China’s satellite-based warfare capabilities is very much a focus of the Space Force war planning effort, and the US won’t necessarily be waiting for China to attack the US’s satellites first. It points to a potentially very significant consequence of this strategic shift to the development of offensives anti-satellite tactics: we shouldn’t assume these offensive weapons will only be used after an attack on US satellites. As with nuclear war, there’s nothing stopping a first strike. Because it sure sounds like the US has kind of adopted a satellite-based mutually assured destruction posture while simultaneously maintaining the right to a first strike.
Now, keep in mind that China is already building mega-constellations of its own, so if the US is planning on knocking out China’s satellite operations, that’s going to entail taking out mega-constellations. Which is a further reminder that the development of new offensive tactics capable of incapacitating entire mega-constellation is likely a big part of what Space Force is developing. Big new offensive capabilities are going to be required. Ideally capabilities that incapacitate a mega-constellation without inducing Kessler Syndrome.
And as we’re going to see, as big as those Space Force ambitions may be, there’s another very powerful network that shares this vision: the folks behind Project 2025. Yes, it turns out Project 2025 actually has a section on its plans for Space Force. Specifically, plans to shift Space Force from a primarily defensive posture to one that includes offensive weapons. In other words, this new tune we are now hearing out of the Space Force command is very much aligned with Project 2025. Which is a strong indication that we should expect massive US government investments in vision for US supremacy of the space battlefield over the next four years. This is, of course, on top of the profound influence Elon Musk is going to have over the Trump administration, with Musk poised to be the primary commercial beneficiary from the militarization of space.
The US government was obviously very interested in space-based warfare under the Biden administration but that doesn’t mean that interest can’t deepen. Because, contrary to the silly notions of Donald Trump as some sort of ‘anti-deep state pro-peace’ candidate, the coming administration is likely to oversee the creation of the ‘deepest state’ the US has ever experienced and these deep state forces are very committed to waging a war in space sooner rather than later:
““Space is a war-fighting domain,” Saltzman said at the Space Force Association’s Spacepower Conference in Orlando, Florida. “Ten years ago, I couldn’t say that. That’s the starting point. Think about that. In 2014, we had senior leaders start to talk about space and war in the same sentence. They got kind of berated by the senior leadership. So this is still a relatively new condition when we’re talking about war-fighting in space. I don’t think we should underestimate the power of that.””
Space isn’t just space anymore. It’s a war-fighting domain. That was the message delivered to the audience of the Space Force Association’s Spacepower Conference by Space Force’s General Chance Saltzman. And as we can see, the US military isn’t just preparing to fight in space. The plans are for domination in space, including both the capacity to neutralize enemy satellites while also protecting US assets. Everything from directed energy or cyberattacks on satellites, to physically taking control of enemy satellites with another satellite, along with roving “defender” satellites to protect against enemy satellites aiming to do the same. Which is the kind of full spectrum planning that suggests there’s going to be A LOT more military assets in orbit in coming years:
And yet, no matter how many defender satellites the US puts in orbit, it’s not clear what kind of defense there is against antisatellite weapons (ASATs) like missiles. Which brings us to the warnings we got back in February of this year about Russian nuclear ASAT test involving an orbital EMP that, according to John Plumb, the former assistant secretary of defense for space policy, would render low-Earth orbit unusable for a year or more. As Plumb explained at the time, the initial EMP could take out some satellites with the radiation left in orbit destroying the rest. Orbital radiation that could potentially be scrubbed by HAARP, let’s not forget. It’s unclear if the “unusable” description is also a reference to a kind of low-orbit Kessler Syndrome scenario. Either way, note how the US proceeded to veto a Russian proposal at the UN this year that proposed to ban ALL weapons in space. What was the US’s justification for this? The Russian ASAT tests. Yep, the claims that Russia has already tested ASATS of its own was the reason for turning down a proposal to ban all weapons in space. It’s not the most compelling argument. But one thing these ASAT warnings make pretty obvious is that one of the ‘features’ of this new space-based battlefield is the reality that there’s a significant limit to the kind of defenses that can be put in place. Objects in orbit are inherently vulnerable, especially low orbit. Which is also a reminder that the logic of mutually assured destruction is likely to be extended to orbit. In other words, a defensive strategy based on the credible threat of being able to retaliate offensively if necessary:
And that brings us back to the reliance on mega-constellations like Starlink and its counterpart built for the Pentagon, StarShield. “Resiliency”, in the form of large numbers of redundant cheap satellites, is going to be a key part of the Pentagon’s strategy. Which, again, isn’t just a recipe for Kessler Syndrome, but also a recipe for a mega-constellation space-race...which makes the risk of Kessler syndrome all the more serious. Which is a reminder that the concept of “resiliency” on space is likely to shift over time. Today, “resiliency” means having lots and lots of satellites. In future, “resiliency” likely to also include a satellite’s ability to withstand the impact of orbital space junk:
Let’s also not forget that China has already started building its own satellite mega-constellations. So when we see Space Force’s leadership already talking about the plans to disable or destroy China’s ability to use its satellites to provide communication, command, tracking, navigation, or surveillance support during an attack against the US or its allies, keep in mind that this is proposal to somehow overwhelm the “resiliency” of those Chinese mega-constellations. Which is also a reminder that the US is presumably developing ASAT capabilities that could disable an entire mega-constellation. And won’t necessarily only use those capabilities in response to a Chinese attack on US space assets. China simply using its own satellites to coordinate its military to fight the US is potentially going to be a justification for taking down Chinese satellites. It’s like mutually assured destruction with a first strike option:
Finally, note how it’s not just the Pentagon making these kinds of elaborate space warfare plans. Project 2025 even includes a call to pivot Space Force from a mostly defensive posture toward offensive weapons systems. Which is a reminder that the deep state forces behind Project 2025 have ambitions to reshape more than just the United States. They have major wars in mind too:
They have a blueprint, all ready to go. And we can be confident the planning for this goes well beyond just what they decided to release to the public. Space may be huge, but that doesn’t mean there’s enough space for more than one military superpower. That’s the US’s policy now. If you attack US space assets, your space-based infrastructure will be rendered inoperable one way or another. Or if you use your satellites to fight a war against the US. Either way, US adversaries’ space-based assets are now fair military targets. It’s mutually assured destruction in orbit, but also a general promise of destruction should the US determine it necessary. That’s how space supremacy works.