The North Atlantic Treaty Organization plans to construct a new space center in the air force high command base in Ramstein, Germany to keep track, and in time likely safeguard, friendly satellites, based on reports by newswires DPA and Deutsche Welle.
The creation of the high-tech monitoring facility is also primarily intended to help manage satellite communications and key components of NATO's global military operations. The latest program comes as space capabilities gain significance in the strategic defense blueprint of global powers.
"This will be a focal point for ensuring space support to NATO operations, sharing vital information and coordinating our strategic activities," Defense News quoted a NATO official as saying.
The U.S., China, and Russia have each poured huge amounts of money in boosting their space technology in the last few years, although many of the programs are highly-classified.
NATO's new space center would help the alliance gather critical information about possible threats to its satellites and could be developed into a command center for defensive tactics, Deutsche Welle said.
According to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Space is very important for NATO, including for the alliance's ability to navigate, gather intelligence, communicate, and detect missile launches.
"It's important that NATO has a good awareness of what is happening in space," Stoltenberg said, adding that it's crucial for the alliance to keep a technological advantage.
More than half of the existing 2,400 satellites navigating the earth are operated by NATO. Allied commanders in countries like Afghanistan or Kosovo rely on these floating hardware to share intelligence and detect incoming missiles.
As dependence on satellites increase, worries over attacks against them have also risen. An attack against certain satellites using anti-satellite weapons hundreds of kilometers above the earth could cripple operations on the ground, cut off communication, and other vital networks.
Russia and China are developing anti-satellite systems which could render inutile or shoot down satellites and create lethal debris in orbit. About half a million pieces of space junk also pose a threat.
