UK military taps up astronomers to spot snooping foreign satellites

The UK military is collaborating with civilian astronomers to develop new methods for detecting satellites used by foreign nations to spy on other countries' satellites. The United States, China, and Russia all possess spy satellites and counter-surveillance satellites that can monitor other state's satellites. For example, the US has a reusable space plane – the Boeing X-37B – capable of staying in orbit for several years and potentially intercepting other satellites' electromagnetic emissions.

Similarly, China and Russia have similar capabilities. Mark Norris, an astrophysicist from the University of Lancashire, explains that these foreign satellites closely monitor each other's appearances, electromagnetic signals, and more to determine their purposes. The UK faces a significant capability gap in this area due to the high cost of developing and maintaining a satellite that can approach other satellites.

Norris believes civilian academics, industry, and research observatories could help address this shortfall, especially considering the UK's reliance on US assistance. Ground-based observations can provide crucial information about potential threats to UK space infrastructure at a lower cost compared to orbiting satellites. UK space surveillance and protection capabilities are managed by the National Space Operations Centre (NSpOC), a partnership between the UK Space Agency, UK Space Command, and the Met Office.

However, with an annual budget of £20 million, the NSpOC has limited capabilities and primarily collects data from various sources to create an overall picture of space activity. Astronomer Don Pollacco from the University of Warwick says the NSpOC should strive for a sovereign capability rather than relying on lower-quality data collected from multiple sources.