Head of UK Space Command, Air Vice Marshall Paul Godfrey. Photo: UK Royal Air Force

Farnborough, U.K. — In a keynote at Space-Comm Expo, the commander of UK Space Command said he is “convinced” that space has a PR problem, as people do not understand the importance and essential nature of space.

Commander of UK Space Command, Air Vice Marshall Paul Godfrey, said that as only around 700 people have been to space, it makes it hard for people to relate. Godfrey spoke about how space is essential for the U.K. and its allies, its values and interests “in an increasingly dangerous decade.”

“NATO declared space an operational domain five years ago. We were formed three years ago. We have an extra 6.4 billion pounds ($8.23 billion) for space. The U.S. Space Force budget will be $30 billion in 2024 and that doesn’t include NRO or Space Command. The theme is accelerating the commercial future for space,” Godfrey said. “Defense will play a significant part in this. It enhances military operations in every domain. It is increasingly competitive, congested. The threat is real. We are seeing increasing irresponsible behaviors. People are operating more in the gray zone.”

For the UK Space Command, it has been a hectic three years. Godfrey said in the first year, it was all about forming Space Command, bringing personnel in and creating relationships across the world. He said the second year was focused on developing processes and procedures. Year three has been about the operationalization of its systems.

Godfrey highlighted the challenges ahead. “We need to champion space in the highest levels of defense. Establishing the National Space Operations Centre (NSpOC) will shine a light on satellite collisions, the growing challenge of space debris. We will face a space domain that is more congested,” he said. “We will face electronic and cyber warfare, from other things to physical attacks on satellite ground stations. There are also stories of Russian nuclear weapons in space. Space technology will further underpin military operations around the world.”

Godfrey also spoke about how the UK is developing strong capabilities in this area. With a number of spaceports coming up, the UK hopes to have assured and timely access to space when required by 2035.

“We want space to be a neutral domain,” Godfrey said. “It is global partnerships with like minded nations that are of key importance. The more like-minded nations we work with, the stronger we are to work against nefarious actors.”

Giving the Canadian perspective on space and defense was Brig. Gen. Mike Adamson, Commander 3, Canadian Space Division. He believes we are in the third space age now. The first was about competition with Russia and the U.S. back in the Cold War, and the second space age was about satellite, GPS, and a more benign use of space. He made some interesting comments about this third space age.

“In this third space age, space is becoming more contested and congested. This is now the environment that we work in. It is increasingly important to our societal day of life, but more at risk from our adversaries,” Adamson said. “We talk about maintaining assured access to the domain. We have a relatively small military to do what we need to do. There is a growing awareness in the Canadian military about the importance of space. The third division is the Canadian Space Command. We understand the role of what we are doing.”

Adamson highlighted one of the important dynamics is how Space Commands have “grown up” together in the past few years. He highlighted how countries such as the U.S., U.K., France, Germany, and Australia have gone down this path in order to try and provide space security across the world.

“We work with closely with our allies. Our program of development has to be complementary. Not one nation can do it alone. Space is a critical enabler for all military forces. We need to understand what is going on in space.”

Maj. Gen. Philippe Adam, commander and head of French Space Command, spoke of France’s journey during a short video address. The French Space Command was formed in 2019.

Adam gave a sobering speech, saying “we need to prepare for a high-density long conflict in the near future.”

“We are entering an era of hybrid warfare,” Adam said. “Adversaries will test the limits of our resolve. We need more agile, flexible quicker solutions. We need to outpace our challengers. We need to know where are the weak links. However, we will not be fighting alone, as we have a number of partners alongside us. There are a myriad of threats from cyber to threats impacting orbital operations.”