The US Space Force has announced a collaboration with Rocket Lab and True Anomaly for a first-of-its-kind mission designed to demonstrate how the military can counter «aggression in orbit». During this mission, a spacecraft created and launched by Rocket Lab will pursue another satellite created by the startup True Anomaly.
«Suppliers will practice a realistic threat response scenario during an on-orbit space awareness demonstration called Victim Haze», — the Space Systems Command of the Space Forces said in a statement.
This threat scenario could include a satellite performing maneuvers to approach a U.S. spacecraft or a satellite doing something unusual or unexpected. In this scenario, the Space Force wants to be able to respond to deter an adversary from acting or to protect a U.S. satellite from attack.
For the Victim Haze mission, the True Anomaly spacecraft will be the first to act, posing as a satellite of a potential adversary, such as China or Russia. The Rocket Lab satellite will be in standby mode, and then it will activate, inspect the True Anomaly spacecraft and execute the launch order from the Space Force.
Then, if all goes according to plan, the two spacecraft will switch roles, and the True Anomaly Jackal satellite will actively maneuver around the Rocket Lab satellite. True Anomaly and Rocket Lab are expected to deliver their spacecraft no later than the fall of 2025.
It is noted that if «a near-equal competitor makes a move», it must be possible for «to make a countermaneuver, whether it is to rise and demonstrate strength, rise and capture space, or understand the characteristics of the» environment.
Victus Haze — is the next military mission in a series of missions to test the capabilities of the Tactically Responsive Space (TacRS) program. Through this effort, the Space Force and its commercial partners have shown how they can reduce the time required to prepare and launch a satellite.
Source: arstechnica