As space weapons proliferate, spy satellites are getting new duties

Satellite imaging company Vantor—formerly Maxar Intelligence—has signed a contract with the U.S. Space Force to help run a “neighborhood watch” in space to monitor for space-based threats like rogue satellites or debris that ground sensors may miss. 

Under the new contract, Vantor will use satellites it already has in orbit to monitor space and protect U.S. satellites, helping provide a sort of “neighborhood watch” in low earth orbit, the increasingly crowded area of space between 99 to 1,200 miles above the surface, Susanne Hake, Vantor’s general manager for U.S. government, told Defense One in an email.  

The program will use “Vantor’s existing imaging satellites on orbit,” she said. “We have 10 satellites, 7 of which can collect space-to-space imagery, also called non-Earth imagery.” Vantor did not disclose the value of the contract.

A brief timeline of new space weapons

During the Cold War, both the United States and the Soviet Union researched potential space-based weapons, but little came of the efforts. —other than a lot of radiation from one particularly dangerous U.S. experiment. In 2010, observers spotted two Chinese satellites performing a type of rendezvous in space, the purpose of which was unclear. As former U.S. Air Force officer Brian Weeden observed at the time, Russia soon followed suit with its own satellites that appeared to be conducting “rendezvous and proximity operations” with one another. 

In July 2020, U.S. Space Command said Russia was conducting space-based anti-satellite tests. In March 2023, U.S. Space Force Chief Gen.  Chance Saltzman told lawmakers that China was also “testing on-orbit satellite systems, which could be weaponized as they have already shown the capability to physically control and move other satellites.” 

In March of this year, Space Force Vice Chief Gen. Michael Guetlein said the technology gap between the United States and China in space had significantly narrowed, and China was now rehearsing what appeared to be clear satellite military maneuvers, “dog fighting” in space.

These developments have increased demand for space-based intelligence and space situational awareness. But those needs exist alongside the need for more earth imaging generally and, soon, missile interceptor satellites. 

To that end, Hake says that Vantor has figured out how to modify its existing satellites so that they can not only collect images of the Earth, but also track space objects to reveal possible maneuvers and proximity operations, or the presence of possible weapons. 

“Our constellation is capable of imaging LEO objects at less than 6-inch resolution and can also support tracking of objects across a much wider space volume. We have imaged objects as small as 24 cm, or about 9.5 inches,” she said. 

The satellite software can be updated from Earth, and Vantor next is looking to use automation to speed up the collection rate, allowing for more pictures and faster delivery.

“We’re aiming to collect as many as 1,000 [non-Earth] images a day. Most collections can be delivered in less than 4 hours—and many are delivered within 90 minutes.”