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Secure World Foundation has published a new analysis examining rendezvous and proximity operations (RPOs) and their growing significance for space security and stability. As satellites from the United States, China, and Russia increasingly conduct close approaches in orbit, RPO activities raise concerns about misperception, escalation, and conflict—while also offering opportunities to advance norms of responsible behavior in space.
The publication explains how RPO technologies underpin both beneficial civil and commercial activities, such as on-orbit servicing and inspection, and military capabilities, including intelligence collection and co-orbital counterspace systems. It outlines why these dual-use characteristics make RPOs particularly destabilizing, especially in the absence of shared understandings, transparency, and clear communication channels.
The analysis also explores current RPO activities by major space powers and identifies potential pathways forward, including clarifying what constitutes threatening behavior, improving space situational awareness, strengthening communication mechanisms, and advancing multilateral discussions through forums such as the UN open-ended working group on the prevention of an arms race in outer space.
Read the full publication here.