The leader of Space Command, Gen. Stephen Whiting, highlighted major wins Tuesday at the Space Symposium, such as a combined exercise in space with France, and underscored upcoming goals like developing space weapons.
"Fighting in space requires credible, acknowledged, kinetic and non-kinetic capabilities, fires and weapons. Acknowledging this reinforces a distinct space warfighting ethos ensures that threats are met with the right capabilities and restores credible deterrence in space," he said, to a packed ballroom at The Broadmoor.
Though Whiting did not elaborate in his speech about "fires" a recent military document uses the term to refer offensive action in space that can disable a satellite, such as a cyberattack.
The Colorado Springs-based Space Command brings together troops from across the service branches to protect and defend the area 62 miles above the Earth. It is distinct from the Space Force, the youngest military branch.
In a conflict, the U.S. also needs to be prepared to reconstitute its assets in orbit, Whiting said.
"We must prepare for a protracted conflict to be successful," he said.
Warfighting in space is still a relatively new idea and blowing up satellites or other objects in space would add to the dangerous debris orbiting the Earth that can damage other crafts, such as space stations.
But Russia's plans for a nuclear weapon in orbit and China's investment in space have added a sense of urgency to deterrence.
During the event, Whiting announced that France and the U.S. had recently flexed their combined space capabilities in their very first rendezvous and demonstration near a "strategic competitor spacecraft." He did not offer any additional details.
He also revealed the Space Command and the Space Force's SpaceWERX plan to fund solutions to refuel satellites in space. It's a problem he's highlighted before saying that too often decisions in space are guided by preserving fuel.
The two military groups plan to fund 10 proposals with $1.9 million each over 15 months.
"This effort will continue to invest in the most promising technology from commercial industry to help us solve the sustained space maneuver challenge," he said. Traditionally satellites are sent up with all the fuel they will need for their lifetimes.
The Space Force already has plans underway to launch and test in-orbit fueling.
It's an area rich with creativity, with some companies pursuing ideas that have been likened to gas stations in space and jet packs for satellites.
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