Engineering

Ariane 5 Launches France’s Cutting-Edge Military Communications Satellite

Race to weaponize space heats up.

Published

5 years ago

October 25, 2021

The number of countries that exist for military purposes in space is increasing every passing day. France’s attempts with its latest military communications satellite is one of them.

A cutting-edge satellite named Syracuse 4A was successfully launched into orbit to allow France’s armed forces across the globe to communicate in an effective and safe way.

The satellite “is designed to resist military aggression from the ground and in space, as well as interference,” said French air and space force spokesman Colonel Stephane Spet who spoke to AFP.

Paris’ move comes after the country created French Space Command as other countries significantly increased their space investment.

The militarization of space has always been a controversial issue for decades. According to NATO’s approach to space, “Space is a dynamic and rapidly evolving area, which is essential to the Alliance’s deterrence and defence.”

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In 2019 –in which the US Space Force was established– NATO partner countries adopted the Alliance’s Space Policy to recognise space “as a new operational domain, alongside air, land, sea and cyberspace.”

France satellite: Ariane 5 carried it into orbit

The Syracuse 4A satellite lifted off on an Ariane 5 rocket from Kourou, in French Guiana late Saturday. As for the functions of the satellite, it can scan its immediate vicinity as well as escaping an attack.

“Thanks to its state-of-the-art equipment (anti-jamming antenna and digital transparent processor on board), Syracuse 4A will guarantee a high resistance to extreme jamming methods,” says the French launch provider Arianespace.

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Last year, an official from the US Space Command said that Russia launched an anti-satellite missile test in space. Another accusation came from France to blame Moscow of approaching its signals intelligence satellite Olymp-K to French-Italian military satellite Athena-Fidus back in 2017.

Space.com reported last week that a failed Russian spy satellite fell to Earth.

In addition to civilian purposes, the race to weaponize space has accelerated recently, and France’s space program is planned to reach 4.3 million euros over the 2019-2025 budget period.