Space
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Features
Modern Militaries, Reinforced Alliances
FORUM Staff Technology is strengthening militaries tasked with maintaining security and stability in the Indo-Pacific. Rapidly modernizing nations are transforming arsenals with advancements from cutting-edge aircraft and game-changing submarines to unmanned vehicles, space awareness tools and cyber defense upgrades. Meanwhile, security partnerships are encouraging scientific cooperation among like-minded militaries, and leaders are relying on the power of regional alliances to…
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Across The Region
U.S. Forces Expand Space Unit in South Korea
U.S. Forces Korea launched a new space forces unit in December 2022 as allies South Korea and the United States ramp up efforts to counter North Korea’s evolving nuclear and missile threats. U.S. Space Forces Korea is an overseas component of the U.S. Space Force and is tasked with detecting and tracking incoming missiles, as well as bolstering the military’s…
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Global Commons
South Korea invests in space defense education programs
Felix Kim South Korea is increasing its focus and investment on space, prioritizing education for its service members on areas involving space defense. “We are reviewing the establishment of a ‘joint space education course’ to foster space experts in terms of jointness in consideration of the increase in space power and the development of space organizations,” the Joint Chiefs of…
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Global Commons
Apollo legacy helps inspire Artemis program
FORUM Staff It has been more than 50 years since astronauts first visited the moon. That 1972 mission, Apollo 17, capped the “space race” won by the United States over the then Soviet Union on July 20, 1969, when two Apollo 11 astronauts stepped onto the barren moonscape. The ongoing Artemis program, which entails five missions around and to the…
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Global Commons
Japan, partners explore space collaboration
Marc Jacob Prosser After North Korea’s failed attempt to launch a spy satellite triggered an emergency alert in Japan’s Okinawa prefecture, the Japanese and United States defense chiefs met in Tokyo in early June 2023 to discuss strengthening military cooperation with South Korea. The three nations plan to share real-time data on Pyongyang’s missile launches. North Korea test-fired an unprecedented…
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Global Commons
Japan, U.S. collaborate to protect critical satellite infrastructure
Tom Abke A Japan-United States venture to protect critical satellite infrastructure against hostile anti-satellite (ASAT) activity and damaging space debris will culminate in 2023 and 2024 with Tokyo launching satellites fitted with U.S.-made space situational awareness (SSA) sensors, as well as continued private-sector collaboration to develop SSA-specific satellites. “Satellite capabilities enable functions in nearly every aspect of our lives, from…
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Global Commons
Japan, Philippines strengthen space, surveillance capabilities
Maria T. Reyes The Philippines is seeking Japan’s continued support in space and surveillance domains as the Chinese Communist Party increases military activities in the Indo-Pacific. Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. expressed hope for further cooperation in space between Manila and Tokyo, specifically on environment utilization and situational awareness, during his official visit to Japan in early February 2023. (Pictured:…
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Features
Sovereignty in Space
Forum STAFF The People’s Republic of China (PRC) fired off a letter to the United Nations in December 2021 complaining it had been forced to maneuver its newly occupied space station twice in four months to avoid colliding with two Starlink satellites, part of the constellation launched by United States-based SpaceX to bring the internet to underserved areas of the…
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Global Commons
North Korea’s spy satellite program threatens international security, experts warn
Felix Kim North Korea’s satellite program is just a cover for the regime’s development of intercontinental ballistic missiles, experts warn. This is particularly concerning as it creates another avenue for provocation and attack by threatening space-based infrastructure that is crucial to not only South Korea and the United States but also to global security. While North Korea has been developing…
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Global Commons
Chinese space debris poses potential risk to U.S. assets
The Associated Press The United States is monitoring activities by China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) that potentially threaten U.S. assets in space as debris rapidly accumulates in low Earth orbit, the head of U.S. military operations in space said in early December 2022. Army Gen. James Dickinson, commander of U.S. Space Command (USSPACECOM), also welcomed overwhelming passage of a United…
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