Satellites face real-world threats — but we’re not ready

Major Gen. Paul Tedman has been the commander of United Kingdom Space Command since 2024. Recently, he made a stark observation: if war breaks out in Europe, it is “highly likely” that the first assault on Britain will take place not on land, sea or air, but in space. Others, like Gen. Chance Saltzman, Chief of Space Operations of the United States Space Force, have highlighted the vital strategic importance of space, calling it a “warfighting domain.” These are clear-eyed assessments of the direction in which modern conflict is moving. But for all of our talk of space, we’re launching vast constellations of satellites with barely a plan for how to protect them. And that needs to change.