The US Space Forces have announced collaboration with Rocket Lab and True Anomaly for a groundbreaking mission aimed at demonstrating how military forces 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.
"The providers will work through a realistic threat scenario during the Space Force's Space Command demonstration in orbit called Victus Haze," the Space Systems Command statement said.
This threat scenario may include a satellite performing maneuvers to approach the US spacecraft, or a satellite doing something unconventional or unexpected. In such a scenario, the Space Forces want to be able to respond to deter the adversary's actions or protect the US satellite from an attack.
For the Victus Haze mission, the True Anomaly spacecraft will be the first to act, posing as a potential adversary's satellite, such as China or Russia. The Rocket Lab satellite will be in standby mode, and later it will be activated, inspect the True Anomaly spacecraft, and execute the launch order from the Space Forces.
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. It is expected that True Anomaly and Rocket Lab will deploy their spacecraft no later than the fall of 2025.
It is noted that if "a near-peer competitor makes a move," there should be the ability to "make a counter-move, whether it's to rise and demonstrate strength, rise and occupy space, or understand the characteristics of the environment."
Victus Haze is the next military mission in a series dedicated to testing the capabilities of the Tactically Responsive Space (TacRS) program. Through these efforts, the Space Forces and their commercial partners have shown how they can reduce the time required to prepare and launch a satellite.
Source: arstechnica
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