Space technologies for defense: resilience of orbital infrastructure and protection of space services

Abstract

Space technologies have become a critical enabler of modern defense because military operations increasingly depend on satellite-based communications, positioning, navigation and timing, missile warning, environmental monitoring, and persistent surveillance. NATO states that reliable access to space services is necessary to support all-domain operations, and its 2025 Commercial Space Strategy explicitly frames commercial space cooperation as a means to increase complementary capabilities, capacity, and resilience for the Alliance. At the same time, the U.S. Department of Defense has formally articulated an approach to protecting and defending space systems and to protecting the Joint Force from hostile use of space, which indicates that the issue is no longer limited to technical modernization, but has become an operational security problem. The aim of this study is to determine how space technologies support defense missions, what makes orbital infrastructure resilient, and how space-enabled services can be protected under contemporary threat conditions.