The Dawn of the 'Space War' Era... What Are Korea's Weapons? [Reading Science]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] Here is a quiz. What is the simplest, most effective, and ‘peaceful’ way to paralyze modern society, which depends on smartphones and the internet? It is to destroy, hack, or disable satellites. Instantly, satellite navigation systems and satellite communications are paralyzed, causing all services that require navigation and ultra-high-speed international satellite communication networks to go offline.

In particular, cutting-edge technologies of the 4th Industrial Revolution era, such as ultra-high-speed communication networks like 5G and 6G, unmanned autonomous driving and flying vehicles, and urban air mobility (UAM), all of which rely on ‘satellites,’ become completely useless. If military satellites used for missile early warning, secret communications, eavesdropping, and surveillance are destroyed or hacked, the damage would be unimaginable. Commercial satellites performing general Earth observation missions would also inevitably suffer significant damage. Moreover, with current technology, even if satellites are destroyed or disabled, almost all countries cannot identify the cause or catch the perpetrators, making it a ‘perfect crime.’ There is no direct loss of human life. In a way, it could be considered the ‘most peaceful’ means of warfare.

For this reason, space has already become a ‘battlefield’ among space powers. On the 4th of this month, at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in China’s Gobi Desert, a spacecraft shrouded in secrecy regarding its mission and capabilities was launched aboard a Long March 2F rocket. Experts believe this spacecraft is China’s developing ‘operational unmanned space vehicle.’ It is a de facto ‘space fighter’ capable of orbiting low and high Earth orbits to monitor and strike enemy satellites. If the pinnacle of China’s ‘space rise’ is the Tiangong space station, scheduled for completion next year as an external symbol, then this spacecraft is a secret weapon to protect it.

The United States, the existing space superpower, has also been operating the X-37B, a small unmanned autonomous spaceplane, since 2010. The X-37B spacecraft has completed five secret missions since its commissioning in 2010. It is currently still in orbit, having been launched for the sixth time on May 17, 2020, and has remained in orbit for over 800 days. A report released in May by the Secure World Foundation stated that China and Russia consider the X-37B a ‘secret offensive weapon.’

The development of such ‘operational space vehicles’ by the U.S. and China transcends existing anti-satellite weapon systems such as ground-launched, satellite-orbiting, directed energy (laser), and electromagnetic wave launchers. No country has officially declared these systems yet. Additionally, Russia is pursuing this field, having succeeded in an experiment last November where it destroyed an actual satellite with an anti-satellite interceptor missile. Europe, Japan, and even North Korea are known to be developing or possessing satellite attack means under the pretext of space debris removal or radio interference. Non-military threats in space, such as space debris falling and asteroids, are also increasing.

South Korea’s Air Force has established an electro-optical satellite surveillance system this year, and the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute has been operating the space object surveillance network (OWL-Net) since 2015, thus having a basic large-scale space surveillance system in place. However, if hostile acts against South Korean satellites occur, it would be impossible not only to respond but even to identify the cause. Last December, the Arirang-3 satellite performed an avoidance maneuver after detecting space debris, thanks to a warning from the United States. South Korea has just become a launch vehicle (Nuri rocket) owning country and launched ‘Danuri’ for lunar exploration. It plans to launch about 100 satellites within 10 years, including the Korean Positioning System (KPS). Active and preemptive research, development, and investment are necessary to respond to various threats in space.