Threats to Space Systems: Risks to Stability and Sustainability

This presentation examines emerging threats to space systems and the implications for stability and sustainability in the space domain. It highlights the growing development and testing of counterspace capabilities—including co-orbital, direct-ascent, directed-energy, electronic warfare, and cyber systems—and the potential risks they pose to global security. The presentation also discusses how rendezvous and proximity operations and the rapid expansion of large satellite constellations could increase the potential for misunderstanding or escalation between space actors. Additionally, it emphasizes the role of space situational awareness as a transparency mechanism that can help verify activities in orbit and support confidence-building measures among spacefaring nations.