MOSCOW, November 1The increase in the volume of space debris associated with the increase in the number of satellites in orbit will not be the only problem associated with the use of near-Earth space in the next decade; space pirates will also appear, who will steal or spoil data transmitted by satellites, said Vyacheslav Temkin, advisor to the general director of the EKIPO company, Aeronet NTI market expert.
«Competition in space will increase significantly in 10 years. This will lead to an open conflict of interests not of companies and corporations, but of countries. Space pirates will appear, de facto controlled by the leadership of these countries. In addition, the amount of space debris will grow faster than it will be dispose of,» Temkin said.
According to him, such piracy will consist of creating interference, disabling equipment or satellites themselves, intercepting data, distorting transmitted information or commands. Satellites in the lowest orbits are most susceptible to this effect. To secure the entire system, the “head” devices responsible for memory and control of the group should be placed in higher orbits, the expert specified.
He explained that low space is a generalized name for a fairly large range of heights above the Earth's surface. Today they have not been mastered, Temkin is sure, which gives Russia a chance to take a leading position in the world. This would be possible with timely support of technological projects, since at low altitudes the tasks of monitoring the Earth, organizing communications and the Internet can be solved very efficiently and economically, the expert explained.
At the same time, according to him, many projects are now appearing and being implemented in Russia, including those aimed at the exploration of near space, new technical solutions are appearing, more efficient payloads are being developed, and personnel training programs for the industry are being developed.
«Breakthrough projects at present, in my opinion, will be projects to create new lightweight launch vehicles, linking satellites from different orbits into a single system controlled by artificial intelligence. Our company, for example, is also working on a project with «high implementation potential for mastering altitudes of 150-200 kilometers. By connecting constellations of satellites in small and higher orbits, it is proposed to create the most advanced, functional and efficient system in the world, capable of quickly reconfiguring to solve a new problem, including under the control of artificial intelligence» , the expert concluded.