SUMMARYA U.S. military think tank is exploring how commanders should respond if a missile-warning satellite suddenly goes dark after a nearby spacecraft is detected in geostationary orbit. The scenario focuses on uncertainty in space warfare, including whether the satellite was disabled by an attack or failed on its own, and how ground controllers could determine the cause and restore operations.
Imagine this: The US military begins tracking a mysterious spacecraft maneuvering near one of the Space Force's missile-warning satellites more than 22,000 miles over the equator.
This US satellite cost several billion dollars to build and launch. It's one of a handful of sentinels keeping constant watch for ballistic missile launches that might threaten the US homeland or US military bases overseas. Suddenly, this missile warning satellite goes dark. Ground controllers at a military base just outside of Denver scramble to figure out what went wrong.
There are two possibilities. Perhaps the mystery spacecraft lurking nearby somehow disabled or destroyed it, or as sometimes happens in the unforgiving environment of space, something important broke on the satellite, rendering it unresponsive. If the former, was it an intentional attack or an accident? Who carried it out and why? If the latter, how might controllers reactivate the satellite?