In the pantheon of armed services, the U.S. Space Force has always been a bit of a weird duckling. Its genesis during the Donald Trump administration was hardly conducive, much of its mission exists in the future, and it may take some time in the convention to refer to its staff as “Guardians” to catch. It is unclear when the branch will even deploy troops in orbit, except not at any time soon, and there is a widespread public perception that the Space Force has little mission beyond what disappeared as Trump’s vanity project.
So, for now, how first marked by Task & Purpose, the Space Force focuses on protecting the nation’s satellites from possible damage, specifically the Department of Defense’s Global Positioning System (GPS) that allows people around the planet to identify exactly where they are . In a hiring ad posted to YouTube titled “Space is Hard” on Tuesday, service members explained the importance of keeping these satellites running and protected from anyone who wants to hack or destroy them.
“I think it’s important because we use it [satellite tech] in everyday life, for example, the GPS we use every day, “said the head of the intelligence of the Space Force, Captain Pierre Jones. Also speaking was Captain Natalia Pinto, collaborator and operator, who added:” The The most important thing that supports the Space Force, from the perspective of a civilian, is the fact that we have GPS, which is something that people, companies, banks and all kinds of financial institutions take advantage of. from the outside, that’s probably the most important thing we trust. “
As Defense One pointed out, while the first thing that may come to mind for most people when it comes to GPS is finding directions to the nearest McDonald’s, GPS is arguably one of the technologies based on the more critical space currently in use. The 31 satellites that make up the GPS system not only provide location data for travelers and travelers, but also provide ultra-accurate global timing that is fundamental to the timestamps of the world. international financial network, make sure they have mains operators correct data in real time, help route mobile networks, coordinate traffic signals, and provide navigation data for flyers and shipments. GPS also has innumerable scientific uses, including earthquake and volcano monitoring and meteorological, hydrological and atmospheric research. And It, of course, has done so numerous military uses.
While the GPS is, like the The New Yorker reported last year, the “potential fundamental risks” of “ground force” include the GPS jam, which it does interrupt signal reception and render drones inoperable. Another is GPS counterfeiting, in which a malicious party can trick GPS-enabled systems into reporting false data. Other nations such as China have begun to compete to expand their own GPS systems and unlike many of these, the United States has there are no terrestrial backup systems in case the satellite network fails. There is also a potential cyber or physical attack on the GPS satellites themselves by a hostile nation state.
I like other theoretical threats, such as electromagnetic pulse attacks, el GPS system vulnerability is the subject of usual chatter among the members of Congress i defense experts. Still, according to War against the rocks, these risks are often exaggerated, as many commercial technologies that are characterized by relying on GPS to actually work are only aided by GPS, while the risk of blocking or falsifying military systems is mitigated by electronic protection functions, the redundancy and encryption. Physically throwing satellites out of the air can be disastrous, just as an opponent somehow takes control or subverts the network with malicious code. War on the Rocks pointed out whether he was a physicist or a cyberattack it would not be a definite problem, as the physical distance between satellites and slow loading times would make either method a long enough effort to invite an answer. A study by RAND Corporation released in June 2021 concluded that many nefarious assessments of GPS vulnerability were exaggerated.
G / O Media may receive a commission
“The possible plausible threats arising from human actions and natural hazards have a very limited duration (maximum days)and most threats are also quite limited in area coverage, “the study authors wrote.” … When estimates of the cost of GPS disruption or loss include realistic adaptation options and complementary technologies. existing estimates are surprisingly low. “
Elsewhere in the video, the head of space operations, General John “Jay” Raymond, launched the space force in less aspirational terms than some of the your previous ads, selling it as a brass operation related to the complex practices of protecting space assets circulating around the world.
“Before it was all we had to worry about astrophysics, Kepler’s law, gamma rays, solar flares, rocket science, black holes, and the theory of relativity … But now we also have to track about 30,000 objects orbiting at more than 17,500 miles per hour, “the general said.
“And our whole way of life depends on us to protect our satellites from attacks, day and night. So yes, the space is hard, ”added Raymond.
Although the GPS received the main shout, Captain Pinto also suggested that the Space Force could play a role in protecting the International Space Station, which “has three astronauts and a lot of research is also being done on board.“.
Space force is with the aim of expanding to 20,000 members in the coming years, from nearly 5,000 members About 10,000 civilians and reassigned Air Force personnel in April. According to Task & Purpose, the service was recently launched YouTube i Twitter hiring accounts and sent your first class of future recruiters attend training at the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California in August.