US Outsourcing Space Intelligence: The Victus Haze Mission

The U.S. Space Force has begun implementing a new strategy for monitoring adversary satellites and studying their capabilities in orbital regions. In this regard, the military prefers to leverage the capabilities of private startups. A recent complex orbital operation conducted by True Anomaly and Rocket Lab demonstrated a new stage of military preparation in space. This is reported by Techcrunch.com news says.

As part of this exercise, named Victus Haze, satellites from the two companies met at an extremely close distance in orbit. According to TechCrunch, this operation is of critical importance as the space arms race between the US, Russia, and China intensifies. The primary goal of the exercise was to identify an unknown object newly launched into orbit within a short timeframe and inspect it closely.

Rapid Launch and Orbital Capture

Rocket Lab successfully launched its Puma vehicle into space just 16 hours and 42 minutes after the order was given. It is worth noting that rocket launch processes are typically prepared for months. In orbit, it was awaited by the Jackal vehicle developed by True Anomaly. Using its sensors, Jackal identified the target from a distance of 2000 kilometers, approached it, and took photographs from various angles.

According to True Anomaly CEO Evan Rogers, this is the most complex rendezvous operation ever performed in modern space history outside of NASA or government missions. Safely bringing two vehicles together, moving at speeds of nearly 28,000 kilometers per hour in orbit, requires immense engineering skill.

New Geopolitical Situation in Space

The US military is concerned about the space activities of Russia and China. These countries regularly launch new types of space weapons and intelligence devices into orbit. The head of True Anomaly noted that there are currently gaps in data collection in the US and that the private sector can quickly fill this deficiency.

Even more complex stages of the mission are planned for the coming weeks. In them, the Rocket Lab satellite will attempt to evade the Jackal's pursuit and, in turn, perform counter-intelligence maneuvers. This resembles scenarios of actual military clashes in space.

This cooperation shows that along with giants like SpaceX, smaller startups are increasing their presence in the military orders market within the space industry. For developing countries like Uzbekistan, space technologies and their role in security will undoubtedly become an important strategic direction in the future.