As one who has had the honor to consult for NASA and the Space Shuttle team in the past; work space-defense-related issues in the Pentagon; speak with all 12 men who walked on the Moon; and author tens of columns on the subject, I have been “Johnny One-Note” over the last decade or so warning that the People’s Republic of China is seeking to establish itself as the dominant military power in space for decades to come. Did anyone in authority care? Not so much.
That may now be changing. Two recent stories in the news have certainly elevated not only interest, but apprehension.
The first one being when Air Force Secretary Troy Meink recently confirmed that the U.S. has weapons stationed in Earth orbit. Said Meink, in part, presumably as a warning to China and, to a lesser extent, Russia at the Air, Space and Cyber Conference: “Today, we continue to ensure we remain ready to meet the challenges of evolving threats wherever they exist. This is why the United States now has on-orbit space control weapons capable of defending the Joint Force against hostile adversary action…”
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The second — and potentially much more intriguing — was highlighted on the site “Defense One” via the headline: “The Pentagon must prepare for battles around the moon: Joint Chiefs chair.”
During the same Air, Space and Cyber conference in which he delivered the Keynote address, it was reported that General Dan Caine — who is the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff — said in part: “Our task, my friends, is to adapt right now, so the Joint Force is prepared to fight, endure and win in global contested environments, from the seabed to cislunar space…”
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“Cislunar” in this case means not just in lunar orbit, but on the surface of the moon. The stuff of fiction? In the past, yes. Today, it must all be about the national and economic security of our nation.
On that fiction front, several years ago I authored a novel — based on some real-world information from a Soviet General — titled “The Dawn of a Nazi Moon.” While hopefully an entertaining and historically accurate story, the major premise of the book was to outline how an adversary could use the Moon as the ultimate “High Ground” against an enemy on Earth.
The belief by some that once humans cut through Earth’s atmosphere into the vacuum of space, our flaws, greed, prejudices and military ambitions will be left behind is not only naïve, but quite dangerous. No one understood that better at the time than President John F. Kennedy.
During his now iconic speech at Rice University on September 12, 1962, on the need for the U.S. to become the “preeminent spacefaring nation,” President John F. Kennedy rightfully stressed in part:
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“We mean to be a part of it — we mean to lead it. For the eyes of the world now look into space, to the Moon and to the planets beyond, and we have vowed that we shall not see it governed by a hostile flag of conquest, but by a banner of freedom and peace… Whether it will become a force for good or ill depends on man, and only if the United States occupies a position of preeminence can we help decide whether this new ocean will be a sea of peace or a new terrifying theater of war.”
Thanks to Kennedy, the United States did once occupy “a position of preeminence” in space. But no more. China now holds that title.
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A China — with its entirely military-controlled space program — which is targeting all our satellites in low and geosynchronous orbit. Satellites that control the fate of our military, our economy and our nation.
But much more alarmingly, it is also a China which is taking dead aim at the Moon. Both for its own military ambitions and for the future energy and economic security of its nation. One way it is doing so is by targeting the helium-3 that litters the surface of the Moon.
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Helium-3 is an isotope which could provide a potentially limitless supply of safe, clean, green energy. Some experts estimate the Moon’s surface holds millions of metric tons of helium-3, and that just 25 metric tons could fuel America’s energy needs for a year.
China is not waiting to find out. Via its lunar landers, it has already returned samples of helium-3 to its laboratories to be studied.
China has every intention of conquering near-space for its military and economic needs. It appears the United States is now waking up to that power-shifting reality. And not a moment too soon.
