2021 Global Counterspace Capabilities Report
About This Report
The Secure World Foundation’s 2021 Global Counterspace Capabilities Executive Summary delivers an in-depth review of how nations are advancing technologies that can threaten space assets. Using open-source intelligence, the report categorizes threats into kinetic physical, non-kinetic physical, electronic, and cyber means, and offers detailed assessments of national counterspace postures. It stresses that while direct physical attacks are rare, the increasing sophistication and operational use of non-destructive tactics signal a troubling normalization of space as a contested domain.
This edition draws attention to Russia’s ongoing co-orbital testing, China’s pursuit of on-orbit servicing technologies with dual-use potential, and the U.S.’s growing emphasis on resilience and deterrence through redundancy and rapid reconstitution. It also highlights rising concerns around the integration of commercial and military assets, making attribution and escalation management more difficult. The report serves as a call to action for international collaboration to develop norms, increase transparency, and ensure the peaceful use of outer space.
Executive Summaries
