Weaponisation of Space

WeaponiSation of Space Why Access to Satellites is so Crucial

Along with cyberspace and Antarctica, outer space is a new frontier where the world's superpowers will wrestle for dominance.

But space will not be a theatre solely reserved for the world's traditional military giants to flex their tech muscle, a senior analyst and space policy expert has warned.

Ambitious middle and smaller nations are set to rise, Dr Malcolm Davis of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute said, and even non-state actors like Al Qaeda and Islamic State will seek to cause chaos in space.

With satellites so crucial to weaponry, communications, surveillance, transport and battlefield logistics, access to space has never been more important or contested. "Space is no longer the pure domain for the major powers," Dr Davis said, thanks to "the rapid growth of commercial space technologies, a falling cost of getting a payload into orbit (and) the cost of satellites dropping".

In 2019, by launching a missile into space to blow up one of its own satellites, India signalled it wanted a place alongside the US, China and Russia in a league of global space powers.

Ensuring access to outer space is critical for the Australian Defence Force and other armed forces. Adobe stock.

India's "hard kill" of the satellite created more than just headlines.

It drew anger from NASA, as the obliterated satellite resulted in hundreds of pieces of space junk left orbiting the earth, cluttering space.

Hard kills like India's anti-satellite missile won't be the overriding threat of the future, Dr Davis predicted.

Instead, soft kills, which disable or deny a satellite, will be the most common form of attack.

Soft kills take place in a grey zone, where cyber attacks target satellites to jam vital communications or strip the device of sensitive information. "If a satellite goes dead, was it a technical fault with the satellite or was it the subject of some sort of hostile action using cyberattack or jamming?" Dr Davis said. "Soft kill capabilities I think, ironically, are the bigger worry. "Hard kills physically destroy a satellite (and) create a huge cloud of space debris. That ultimately means that the attacker has been denied access to space as much as the target state."

Non-state actors, like Al Qaeda and Islamic State, or advanced ransomware hackers will also look for opportunities to exploit and meddle. "That's entirely within the realms of possibility," Dr Davis said.

One such technique is called "spoofing", where false information is fed to a satellite.

Dr Davis said the Russians used the spoofing method in 2017, "where they misdirected a commercial tanker off course to test out the system."

One year later the Russians also spoofed satellites to interfere with NATO exercises off the coast of Norway. "Adversaries do have these counter space capabilities that are being developed all the time, getting more sophisticated," Dr Davis said.

Satellites play a crucial role directing weapons and deploying attacks on the ground. Defence image.

"And what that means is that our ability to rely on space support from satellites is going to be challenged. "If we lose access to space, then we lose our ability to fight war in a modern manner."

Without satellites, Dr Davis said, the Australian Defence Force and other armies are sucked back into a "more brute force, industrialised level of warfare." "Think the first 30 minutes of (the movie) Saving Private Ryan," he explained.

Satellites help armed forces manoeuvre, deploy weapons and attacks and understand exactly what is happening on a battlefield. "If we lose those space capabilities, then we're deaf, dumb and blind," Dr Davis said. "We can't see where the enemy is, we can't coordinate our forces, we can't use precision strike weapons."

By Mark Saunokonoko Nine News

The Evolution of the Spacesuit:

From the Project Mercury Suit to the Aouda.X Human-Machine Interface

Spacesuits have evolved quickly throughout the decades and will play a vital role in our next trips to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. The technologies we rely on to make space exploration possible are constantly evolving. One of the most important, though easily overlooked, technologies necessary for space exploration is the humble spacesuit. The spacesuit is the cornerstone of human survival in space, allowing fragile humans to brave the harsh, unforgiving elements and challenges presented while in space. Without specialized suits to keep astronauts safe, events like the Moon landing and the first space walk would not have been possible. Just like with spacecraft, spacesuits have been evolving, becoming more effective at protecting astronauts, while offering a wide range of new features that rival some of your favourite science fiction films. Beyond scientific missions, there is a good chance that the spacesuits developed today will lay the foundation for suits worn by space tourists tomorrow. Here's a quick look at how far we've come from the earliest precursors to spacesuits, to the exciting new developments of today.

Early pressure suits

As flight developed, aviators found they had to develop pressure suits to provide oxygen when the air became too thin. The first pressure suit was patented in 1918 by Fred M. Sample. It was made from an elastic material and included an airtight bodysuit, a helmet that could be easily opened and closed, and a flexible air-supply hose connected to a source of compressed air and a pump. In 1934, aviator Wiley Post, the first man to fly solo around the world, had rubber manufacturer B.F. Goodrich create a rubber pressure suit which enabled him to reach 40,000 feet (12.1 km). A later version was made from latex poured over cotton clothing and had a metal helmet with a glass visor. Engineer Russell Colley later developed the XH-5 “Tomato Worm Suit” model, which had segmented joints at the knees, hips, and elbows (it resembled the body of the tomato hornworm, hence the name).

The Litton Mark I. National Museum of the US Air Force.

The Litton Mark I:

One of the first spacesuits

While working for Litton Industries in the early 1950s, Dr. Siegfried Hansen unknowingly laid the groundwork for future generations of spacesuits. Hansen created the Mark I, a suit designed to be worn in a vacuum. The Mark I might seem primitive by today's standards, but it was the first suit to allow its wearer to breathe in a vacuum while still offering a good deal of mobility. Later, researchers who were working on sending the first humans to space recognized the usefulness of the suit. Today, the Mark I is widely considered as the first extravehicular activity suit.

NASA/Wikimedia Commons

NASA/Wikimedia Commons M. Shecherbakov/Wikimedia Commons

The Mercury Suit:

First American Spacesuit

Developed by the B.F. Goodrich Company in the late 1950s, the Mercury Suit (also known as the Navy Mark IV) was a modified pressure suit, based on designs used by the United States Navy. The suits were originally designed by Russell Colley for use during the Korean War. NASA's Mercury Project kicked into gear in 1958, and the need for a spacesuit to protect astronauts quickly became apparent. NASA scientists noted Mark IV as a potential model, given its ability to protect pilots at high altitudes and maintain an atmosphere similar to that of Earth's. To make the design viable for space, they coated the suit with aluminium for thermal control and added a closed-loop breathing system that pumped oxygen into the suit through a tube at the waist.

The SK-1:

First spacesuit used in space

The Russian-made SK-1 has the distinct honour of being the suit worn by the first man in space, Yuri Gagarin. In fact, the breakthrough suit was designed especially with Gagarin in mind. The suit was in use from 1961 until 1963 and was worn by cosmonauts on other Vostock missions. As the Vostock had no soft landing system, the suit was designed with an ejection function that would allow cosmonauts to safely eject themselves from the craft before landing. It allowed ejections of up to 26,000 feet (8 km) and came equipped with a life support system.

NASA/Wikimedia Commons

The Gemini Spacesuits:

Developing suits for different uses

In the early days of spacesuit development, it gradually became apparent that different suits were needed for different environments and use. The Gemini series of spacesuits, built throughout the mid-1960s, sought to address these differences by creating specialized suits for different eventualities. These included the G3C, which was created for intra-vehicle use and was worn on the Gemini 3. Another Gemini suit was the G4C, which could be used as both an intravehicle and extra-vehicle suit, and was worn during the first American spacewalk in 1965. The Gemini suits would later be modified for the Apollo missions.

Lobanov Andrey/Wikimedia Commons

The Apollo/Skylab A7L:

Suit that landed on the moon

To make the dream of walking on the Moon a reality, NASA had to create a suit that not only kept their astronauts alive in the vacuum of space but would also be lightweight while providing the flexibility and manoeuvrability needed for walking on the Moon. The design would have to protect its wearer from the effects of radiation, as well as protect the wearer against the tough terrain, and provide the ability to stoop down and collect rocks. With these concerns in mind, NASA developed what they referred to as EMUs — Extravehicular Mobility Units, which has become colloquially known as the Apollo or Skylab suit. The suit featured the famous fishbowl helmet and a water-cooled undergarment that was fitted with 300 feet (91 meters) of tubing. An additional "backpack" containing oxygen and cooling water was also worn for walking on the moon's surface.

Lobanov Andrey/Wikimedia Commons Lobanov Andrey/Wikimedia Commons

The Berkut:

Worn during the first-ever spacewalk

Modified from an SK-1 suit, the Berkut was an extravehicular activity (EVA) suit worn by Alexy Leonov during the first space walk. The suit contained enough oxygen for 45 minutes of activity and was only used during the Voskhod 2 mission, partly due to its poor mobility. The spacewalk itself revealed weaknesses in the suit's design that would later help the Soviets to improve their technology. For starters, Leonov's body temperature rose dramatically during the spacewalk, putting him in danger of having a heatstroke. The stiffness of the suit also made Leonov's re-entry of the Voskhod 2 a difficult and complicated affair, and the structural integrity of the suit was compromised. Luckily, Leonov kept his cool and returned to the safety of the ship, but the first space walk nearly had a very different ending.

The Shenzhou IVA:

Worn on the first manned Chinese space flight

The suits worn on the first manned space flight from China were reverseengineered from Russian SK-1 suits. Russia sold the suits to China in 1992, where they were taken apart and rebuilt for the Shenzhou program. As an intra-vehicle suit, the Shenzhou suit has no temperature or pressure controls. It was worn for the duration of the day-long Shenzhou 5 mission, which launched in October 2003 and saw Yang Liwei become the first Chinese person in space.

Anagoria/Wikimedia Commons Polimerek/Wikimedia Commons

The Sokol:

Worn From 1973 to today

The Sokol is a strictly intra-vehicle activity (IVA) suit, worn in case of depressurisation aboard Russian spacecraft. It was created in response to the deaths of the crew aboard Soyuz 11 in 1971, who died from depressurisation during re-entry. First developed in 1973, the suits are still worn on some missions today. The improvements made to the Sokol include an open-circuit life-support system, and a pressure relief valve which regulates the suit's internal pressure. The suit is a modification of an aviation suit, as opposed to a preexisting spacesuit. Once suited, the wearer can survive for up to 30 hours in a pressurized cabin and up to 2 hours in an unpressurised atmosphere.

The Extravehicular Mobility Unit:

Used aboard the International Space Station

NASA's Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) was first introduced in 1981 and is still used today aboard the ISS. The suit can supports wearers outside the craft for up to 7 hours and is made up of 14 separate layers. The first layers include a cooling undergarment which, like earlier models, uses a liquid coolant to protect the astronaut from over-heating. It also includes a garment which maintains air pressure inside the suit and a thermal micrometeoroid garment to protect the wearer from radiation and small pieces of space debris.

NASA/Wikimedia Commons

The Orlan:

From Soviet Space Stations to the ISS

Developed in the late 1970s, the Orlan has been worn aboard the Soviet space station, Salyut 6, and is today still used aboard the ISS. In 2003, an Orlan named suit named SuitSat-1, was fitted with a radio transmitter and launched into orbit, effectively becoming the first spacesuit satellite. Though the SuitSat-1's mission was a short-lived one, lasting just two orbits before its batteries died and transmissions ceased, it was fitted with a CD of art collected from across the globe. In 2006 the suit burned up in the Earth's atmosphere, just above the Southern Ocean.

Lobanov Andrey/Wikimedia Commons

The Feitian:

China's first indigenous Spacesuit

Unveiled in 2008, the Feitian was the first Chinese spacesuit built and designed entirely in China. An EVA, it was worn by Zhai Zhigang during China's first spacewalk, in September 2008. The suit took four years to develop and is modelled on Russia's Orlan suit. Like the Orlan, it can support extravehicular activities of up to 7 hours. Its name directly translates as "flying in the sky," and also the name of a Buddhist goddess..

Lobanov Andrey/Wikimedia Commons

The Final Frontier Design IVA Spacesuit:

A suit built by a start-Up

Founded in 2010 by artist Ted Southern, Final Frontier Design caught the public's attention as a start-up dedicated to designing and creating cutting-edge spacesuits. Usually the domain of governmentfunded scientists, Final Frontier Design showed the world that with the right know-how, anybody could enter the business of spacesuit design. Southern and his co-founder, engineer Nikolay Moiseev, won second place in a NASA competition in 2009, which inspired them to establish their own space technology start-up. In 2014, they received a Space Act Agreement from NASA and at present, they're working on their fourthgeneration spacesuit. This could mean that, in the near future, astronauts could be wearing suits designed by engineers working outside the traditional confines of the space industry.

ESA

The sleek and smart SpaceX Spacesuit

In 2018, SpaceX launched their "Starman" - a mannequin wearing the company's spacesuit, sitting behind the wheel of a Tesla roadster. It was a compelling image that garnered lots of attention, memes, and hype around SpaceX. Elon Musk is a great showman, but does the spacesuit actually work? These suits were actually designed by Hollywood costume designer Jose Fernandez, who has worked on costumes for films including Batman versus Superman, The Fantastic Four, and The Avengers. Customized to the wearer, the Starman space suits feature a 3D printed helmet, touchscreen-sensitive gloves, and a few other smart features.

Elon Musk has assured the press that the suit has been demonstrated to be safe to wear in vacuum chambers. However, the sleek design is intended for intra-vehicle activities only, specifically for use within the Dragon — SpaceX's transport capsule for ferrying passengers and cargo to the ISS. The suits were recently worn on the Demo-2 mission. We wonder how the Starman is doing?

R. Markowitz/Wikimedia Commons Esa.int/ESA_Multimedia

The Z Series:

NASA's new generation of suits

Though it might look like something Buzz Lightyear would wear, the Z-series suits are actually part of a new generation of suits created by NASA's Advanced Exploration Systems program. The Z-2 is designed for use on other planets, while its precursor, the Z-1, was a softer-bodied suit trialled on the ISS last year. NASA hopes the Z-2 will be used on the first manned Mars landings, and have designed the suit to be as lightweight and mobile as possible to aid in the collection of data.

The Aouda.X:

Preparing for a Mars landing

Another set of innovators with their sights set on the red planet are the members of the Austrian Space Forum. They've created the Aouda.X — a spacesuit simulator that can prepare astronauts for exploring the surface of other planets. The helmet has a head-up display, and the suit includes sensors and software that can interact with pre-existing tech on Mars, like rovers. Though the suit in its current form is not suitable for use in space or on other planets, it allows astronauts to get a feel for what they can expect on foreign surfaces.

Boeing

The comfortable Boeing Blue Spacesuit

Designed for astronauts traveling to and from low-Earth orbit destinations, like the International Space Station, the "Boeing Blue" is Boeing's iteration of a future spacesuit. Unveiled in 2017, this spacesuit offers wearers greater pressurized mobility and is about 40 percent lighter than previous suits worn by astronauts. Comfort is the name of the game for the suit. The suit is intended to be worn by passengers of Boeing's future CST-100 Starliner spacecraft. It will contain internal layers to keep astronauts cool. The Boeing Blue will also include touchscreensensitive gloves so that astronauts can work with tablets in the spacecraft, similar to the Starman suits.

NASA and The Exploration Extravehicular Mobility Unit

In 2019 NASA gave people a look at their next generation of suits, designed for the Artemis program. The Exploration Extravehicular Mobility Unit or xEMU for short will play an

SmartSuit:

An intelligent and mobile EVA Spacesuit for the next generation exploration missions

NASA is funding a project that could create the next generation of spacesuits. Part of the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts Program, the suit could be worn by astronauts who travel to planets like Mars, and possibly beyond. This Texas A&M Engineering EVA concept spacesuit features stretchable selfhealing skin and can provide visual feedback to the wearer, identifying potential damage, threats, or issues with the suit. NASA is funding some 'out of this world' projects. on the Moon as well as from space debris and micrometeorites. The suits will also offer astronauts more mobility than traditional spacesuits while they are conducting research on the lunar surface.

important role in future trips to the Moon, slated from 2024. Bulkier than the pressure suits worn inside the spacecraft, the spacesuit protects the wearer from extreme temperatures

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The C-390 Millennium Multi-mission Transport Aircraft has Well and Truly Arrived

Embraer is a leading aerospace company with a proud 52-year history serving the defence, commercial, and executive aviation industry segments. It has achieved notable recognition as global market leader manufacturing the C-390 Millennium multi-mission transport aircraft, the A-29 Super Tucano light air attack, armed reconnaissance and tactical training aircraft and jets including the ERJ 145 and the E-Jets family of commercial aircraft. Embraer has a strong presence in the global Defence market, with more than 1400 aircraft delivered in more than 60 countries.

The C-390 Millennium aircraft, and the KC-390 refuelling version, is the result of a partnership, started in 2009, between the Brazilian Ministry of Defence and Embraer, with an initial target to design and build the new generation medium sized military aircraft to replace their fleet of 31 Lockheed Martin C-130H aircraft operated by the Brazilian Air Force (FAB), setting new standards in its category.

Some of the aircraft’s strengths are its unrivalled mobility and operational flexibility in a single platform, this provides air forces with optimal fleet performance generated by a cost-effective combination of high availability and productivity. Robust design, flexibility, proven state-of-the-art installed technologies, and easier maintenance, the C-390 Millennium flies faster and carries more cargo than other military airlifters of the same size. The aircraft needs fewer on-demand inspections and maintenance actions which reduces overall operating costs, contributing to excellent availability levels and low life-cycle costs.

Four KC-390 Millennium aircraft are currently in operation with FAB and have been in active service since September 2019. FAB operated one of their KC-390 Millennium aircraft in an international humanitarian and disaster relief (HADR) mission delivering support relief to Beirut, Lebanon, after the devastating city port explosion in August 2020.

In 2019, Embraer concluded a sale of five KC-390 Millennium aircraft to the Portuguese Air Force, making it the first NATO country to procure the airlifter. The aircraft will support the operations of the Portuguese Armed Forces and increase readiness in missions of national interest, with deliveries starting in 2023.

In 2020, the Hungarian government signed a contract with Embraer for the acquisition of two KC-390 Millennium aircraft in its air-to-air refuelling (AAR) configuration. The acquisition is part of the process to strengthen the capabilities of the Hungarian Defence Forces especially in tactical airlift, Air-to-Air Refuelling, and medical evacuation roles, as well as in other missions of public interest. Deliveries are scheduled to start in 2023. Both Portuguese and Hungarian aircraft will be fully NATO compatible, not only in terms of hardware, but also in terms of avionics and communications configuration.

Proving its interoperability capabilities, in 2021 one of FAB’s KC-390 aircraft dropped paratroopers in joint flights with U.S. Air Force C-17 and C-130 aircraft during Operation Culminating, in Alexandria, Louisiana, USA. The exercise missions delivered high levels of interoperability with US Forces and other transport aircraft. In addition to the KC390, nine USAF C-17 and four C-130 aircraft participated in the exercise. Some 1,600 paratroopers and 22 heavy equipment platforms were successfully delivered to the drop zone of Joint Readiness Training Centre, a U.S. Army installation that specializes in receiving this type of joint training.

The built-in, rapidly reconfigurable multi-mission design of the aircraft allows it to efficiently perform a variety of missions such as cargo and troop transport, cargo airdrop, paratrooper operations, air-to-air refuelling (as a receiver and tanker) for both jets and helicopters, aeromedical evacuation, search and rescue, aerial firefighting, special force’s missions, and tactical VIP transport missions. The aircraft can carry up to 26 metric tons of cargo at a maximum speed of 470 knots (870 km/h), and can operate in austere environments, including maximum effort operations to and from unpaved or damaged runways.

The international interest the KC-390 and C-390 Millennium aircraft is attracting has been particularly reassuring for Embraer, confirming that the next generation of medium air mobility aircraft has well and truly arrived, and we look forward to it being in operation with many more Defence Force’s in the foreseeable future. Keep an eye out for it at Avalon Air Show in December 2021.

Four KC-390 Millennium aircraft operational with the Brazilian Air Force

KC-390 Millennium aircraft conducting maximum effort operations from unpaved runway.