Star Wars

    A satellite circles the Earth 20,000 miles high. Far below, a missile leaves the ground and rockets into space. Nearly an hour later, the missile blasts the satellite into tiny pieces. Before long, another satellite explodes, then dozens more.

    A war has started high in the sky. And the effects are felt on Earth immediately. 

    This may sound like science fiction. But experts say it might soon be real. Wars of the future may be fought in space.

    How can we be ready for these wars? In June, President Donald Trump announced a plan. He wants to form a special military division to defend America in outer space. Soon, the U.S. may have an Army, a Navy, an Air Force, the Marines, the Coast Guard—and a Space Force.

    A satellite circles Earth. It’s 20,000 miles up. Down on Earth, a missile leaves the ground. It zooms up into space. The missile hits the satellite. The satellite explodes into tiny pieces. Soon, another satellite explodes. Then many more satellites explode.

    A war has started high in the sky. 

    This may sound like science fiction. But experts say it could happen. In the future, wars may be fought in space.

    How can we be ready for these wars? In June, President Trump announced a way to get ready. He wants to form a new military group. The group would defend America in space. The U.S. already has an Army, a Navy, an Air Force, the Marines, and the Coast Guard. Soon, it may have a Space Force.

    A satellite circles Earth 20,000 miles high. From the ground far below, a missile launches into space and is soon travelling at 25,000 miles an hour. Nearly 50 minutes later, the missile blasts the satellite into tiny pieces. Before long, another satellite explodes, then dozens more.

    A war has begun in space. And the effects are immediately felt on Earth. 

    This scenario may sound like science fiction, but experts say it might soon be a reality—wars of the future may be fought in space.

    How can we prepare for space wars? In June, President Donald Trump announced a plan to form a special military division to defend America in outer space. The U.S. may soon have a Space Force, in addition to the Army, the Navy, the Air Force, the Marines, and the Coast Guard.

    The Space Force might sound like an army from a Star Wars movie. But these soldiers won’t be patrolling the skies with laser guns and lightsabers. They’ll sit in control rooms staring at computer screens. Their job will be to guard one of the most important assets we have: satellites.

    Walk outside at night and stare up at the sky. It may look empty, except for the stars. In fact, it’s full of satellites. These machines take pictures and send other information back to Earth. The smallest could fit in the palm of your hand. The largest—called the International Space Station—is the size of a football field. More than 1,800 working satellites orbit Earth. 

    Every day, you depend on satellites. Open Google Maps on your phone to find a friend’s house. You’ve just used the GPS (Global Positioning System). It’s powered by data from dozens of satellites. Check to see if your soccer game might be rained out. The weather report came from information and pictures gathered by satellites.

    The Space Force sounds like it’s from a Star Wars movie. But these soldiers won’t be in outer space. They won’t use laser guns ord lightsabers. They’ll be on Earth. The soldiers will watch computer screens. They’ll guard important assets: our satellites.

    The sky is full of satellites. These machines take pictures. They collect information. They send the pictures and information back to Earth. The smallest satellite could fit in your hand. The largest is the International Space Station. It’s the size of a football field. More than 1,800 satellites orbit Earth. 

    Satellites help you every day. Use Google Maps to find a friend’s house. You’ve just used the GPS (Global Positioning System). It uses data from dozens of satellites. Weather reports also come from information gathered by satellites.

    The Space Force sounds like an army from a Star Wars movie, but these soldiers won’t be patrolling the skies with laser guns and lightsabers. Instead, they’ll sit in control rooms and observe computer screens. Their job will be to guard one of the most important assets we have: satellites.

    When you stare up at the night sky, it may look empty, except for the stars, but it’s actually full of satellites. In fact, more than 1,800 working satellites orbit Earth. 

    The smallest satellite could fit in the palm of your hand, and the largest—called the International Space Station—is the size of a football field. These machines take pictures and send other information back to Earth.

    Every day, you rely on information collected by satellites. When you open Google Maps on your phone to find a friend’s house, you are using the GPS (Global Positioning System). It’s powered by data from dozens of satellites. And when you check to see if your soccer game might be rained out, the weather report is based on information and pictures gathered by satellites.

    Information from the sky is even more important to the U.S. military. Spy satellites take pictures from thousands of miles high. They track the movement of enemy troops on the ground. They watch for tests of nuclear bombs.

    If the U.S. is attacked, satellites could be the first target. In January 2007, China proved that it could be done. The Chinese military fired a missile at a weather satellite. The missile hit its target nearly 600 miles above Earth. 

    The strike wasn’t an act of war. The satellite belonged to China. But the mission sent a message, and the U.S. military listened. Since then, the Air Force has been working secretly on how to protect America in space.

    The U.S. military uses satellites too. Spy satellites take pictures from high up. They watch enemy troops on the ground. They watch for tests of nuclear bombs.

    If the U.S. is attacked, satellites could be the first target. In January 2007, China proved that it could happen. The Chinese military fired a missile at a weather satellite. It was 600 miles above Earth. The missile hit its mark. 

    The strike wasn’t an act of war. The satellite belonged to China. But since then, the Air Force has been working on ways to protect America in space.

    Information from the sky is even more important to the U.S. military, which uses spy satellites to take pictures from thousands of miles high. These satellites track the movement of enemy troops on the ground and watch for tests of nuclear bombs.

    If the U.S. is attacked, satellites could be the first target. In January 2007, China proved that such an attack could happen, firing a missile at a weather satellite. The missile hit its target nearly 600 miles above Earth.

    The satellite belonged to China, so the strike wasn’t an act of war. But the mission sent a message that the U.S. military heard loud and clear. Since then, the Air Force has been working secretly on strategies to protect America in space.

    One thing is certain: A space war would be very dangerous. When an object explodes in space, it breaks into thousands of pieces. Those pieces don’t just drift away. They stay in orbit. They turn into floating weapons that can destroy spaceships or other satellites. 

    Since the early years of space exploration, the world’s most powerful countries have tried to keep peace in the skies. In 1967, the U.S. and several other nations signed the Outer Space Treaty. They promised to use the moon and planets only for peaceful purposes. 

    So far, the treaty has helped prevent war from spreading into space. That makes some experts question if creating a Space Force is really a good idea. They wonder: Will it help keep our skies safe—or send the message that we’re ready to attack?

    A space war would be very dangerous. When an object explodes in space, it breaks into thousands of pieces. Those pieces stay in orbit. They become floating weapons. They can hit and destroy spaceships. They can destroy other satellites too.

    Space exploration began more than 60 years ago. Since that time, the world’s leaders have tried to keep peace in the skies. In 1967, the U.S. and several other nations signed the Outer Space Treaty. They promised to use the moon and planets only for peaceful purposes.

    So far, the treaty has helped prevent a space war. As a result, some experts question whether a Space Force is a good idea. They wonder: Will it help keep our skies safe? Or will it send the message that we’re ready to attack? 

    One thing is certain: A space war would be extremely dangerous. When an object explodes in space, it breaks into thousands of pieces. Those pieces stay in orbit, becoming floating weapons that can destroy spaceships or other satellites.

    Since the early years of space exploration, the world’s most powerful countries have tried to maintain peace in space. In 1967, the U.S. and several other nations signed the Outer Space Treaty. They promised to use the moon and planets only for peaceful purposes.

    So far, the treaty has been effective, which makes some experts question whether creating a Space Force is really a good idea. They wonder: Will it help keep our skies safe—or send the message that we’re ready to attack.