How much of a threat is satellite warfare?
The Inquiry
BBC
4.6 • 1.7K Ratings
🗓️ 3 September 2025
⏱️ 23 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
“There is no longer any debate that space is a war fighting domain,”
These were the words of Commander General Stephen Whiting from the US government’s Space Command at a conference earlier this year. China, the US, India and Russia have tested anti-satellite weapons in space, and technology is blurring the lines between civilian and military satellites.
But will there be war in space?
Joining us to discuss the threat of satellite warfare are: Dr Raji Rajagopalan, a resident senior fellow with the Australian Strategic Policy Institute in Canberra; Juliana Suess, an associate with the German Institute for International and Security Affairs; Saadia Pekkanen, professor at the University of Washington in Seattle, USA and Dr Bleddyn Bowen is an associate professor of Astro politics with the Space Research Centre at Durham University in the UK.
Presenter: Charmaine Cozier Producer: Vicky Farncombe Researcher: Maeve Schaffer Technical producer: Nicky Edwards Production Coordinator: Tammy Snow Editor: Tara McDermott
Image: Getty Images
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to the inquiry from the BBC World Service. I'm Charmaine Cozier. Each week, one question, four expert witnesses and an answer. |
| 0:12.0 | April 2025, Colorado Springs, USA. The city is hosting a major international space industry conference. |
| 0:23.5 | The US is the leading space power. |
| 0:26.8 | Now China seems to be catching up fast. |
| 0:29.6 | It has ultra-sophisticated satellites. |
| 0:32.6 | It's also been testing weapons which can destroy satellites in orbit. |
| 0:36.7 | Russia has also done that. |
| 0:39.8 | One of the key conference speakers is Commander General Stephen Whiting from the U.S. |
| 0:45.0 | Government's Space Command. It protects the country's interest in space. |
| 0:49.6 | Given this threat environment that we now find ourselves in, there is no longer any debate that space is a war-fighting domain. |
| 0:56.8 | That said, there has never been a war in space. |
| 0:59.6 | And we don't want a war to start in space or to extend into space. |
| 1:04.4 | So this week we're asking how much of a threat is satellite warfare? |
| 1:11.6 | Part 1. Eyes and ears. |
| 1:15.8 | So today I think we have reached a number somewhere around 11,700 active satellites orbiting Earth. |
| 1:24.6 | Dr. Raji Raji Gulpalan is a resident senior fellow with the Australian Strategic Policy Institute in Canberra. |
| 1:31.6 | Her expertise includes outer space and space security. |
| 1:36.1 | Signals from satellites help billions of people around the world to communicate, |
| 1:40.4 | travel and plan their lives and work. |
| 1:43.1 | A much smaller number, estimated at 630, |
| 1:47.1 | are used for national defence. |
| 1:49.0 | Maybe slightly less than half of the total number of military satellites |
... |
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