Small combat space assets of the USA and the answer to them

American dual purpose GPS satellite. Photos Lockheed Martin

Wishing to gain certain advantages over potential adversaries, developed foreign states are updating their military space groupings. Systems and complexes of different classes with certain functions are being developed. Some of these developments pose a potential threat to third countries. So, recently it became known about new threats to the Russian space group.

Threats in orbit

On February 16, the Federation Council hosted a round table on the topic “40 years of the US Strategic Defense Initiative”. The militarization of outer space as one of the acute problems of international security. The event was organized by the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs and the Defense Committee. The discussion was attended by senators and representatives of relevant structures of the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

As part of the round table, a report was made by the head of the Military Space Academy. A.F. Mozhaisky Major General Anatoly Nestechuk. The main topic of the report was current threats and challenges in outer space, as well as relevant developments of foreign states. In addition, the general spoke about how our armed forces plan to counter existing and expected threats.

Spaceplane X-37B after another flight, 2022. Photo by the US Department of Defense

According to the head of the academy, US science and industry are now actively engaged in the subject of the so-called. small combat spacecraft. Various instances of this class are created. The development of some projects has already been completed, and finished products are being tested.

Such small means are capable of performing covert maneuvers and approaching other spacecraft. After approaching, they can incapacitate the target. Combat missions can be accomplished in any situation and at any time.

Small combat space vehicles can be launched into orbit using various rocket and space systems. So, they can be launched as part of multi-satellite low-orbit communication systems, such as Starlink or OneWeb. Also, the reusable ship X-37B is now actively used as a carrier of military equipment.

General Nestechuk said that the creation and deployment of small weapons leads to the threat of attacks on critical elements of the Russian space infrastructure. In particular, the disabling of communication devices threatens the preservation of command and control, incl. strategic nuclear forces.

Launch of an SM-3 missile at an orbital target, 2008. Photo by the US Department of Defense

Retaliatory measures

The head of the Military Space Academy also said that measures are being taken in our country to protect against observed and expected threats. One of them is the creation of a new large structure that will be responsible for finding and parrying existing and expected threats.

It is proposed to form a Center for Information and Analytical Support of Military Space Activities of Third Countries. This organization will collect data from all sources that monitor outer space and orbits. She has to process information, monitor the current situation and make forecasts. Ready data will be issued to various consumers.

According to A. Nestechuk, the creation of such a center will give the armed forces new opportunities and certain advantages. First of all, they will be able to timely identify threats to both the space group and conventional forces. In addition, the new structure will help the military and political leadership of the country to make the right decisions and respond correctly to emerging situations.

Militarization of space

Thus, the situation in outer space remains difficult, and there are risks of its further deterioration. All leading countries have created their own military orbital groupings and are striving to develop them. At the same time, the United States, despite numerous warnings and warnings, intends to engage in full-fledged militarization of outer space.

Defeat the target at an altitude of 240 km. Photo by the US Department of Defense

During a recent meeting in the Federation Council, some of the Pentagon's modern developments in the field of space weapons were mentioned. In addition, the United States has at its disposal other systems capable of hitting orbital targets or solving related military tasks. At the same time, the full potential of existing systems and complexes is still unknown.

According to known data, the American space industry has been dealing with the topic of inspector satellites for a long time. Various samples of this class were developed, put into orbit and tested. According to the latest newsdevelopment in this area continues. To obtain new opportunities, a course was taken to reduce the size and weight while maintaining all other characteristics.

The reduction in size and weight can complicate development and production, but provides operational benefits. So, there is a possibility of mass simultaneous launch of satellites into orbits - the necessary technologies have already been worked out in dual-use projects. The mass launch of inspector satellites or combat vehicles will simplify the simultaneous monitoring of different orbits.

Telescopes of the "Window" complex. Photo by the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation

According to the head of the Military Space Academy, the Pentagon has at its disposal another means of launching small loads into orbit - the X-37B reusable spaceplane. Its capabilities have already been proven in practice. During one of the previous missions, such a ship delivered a small-sized satellite to the calculated orbit and dropped it. At the same time, the cargo compartment of the spaceplane allows you to transport larger and heavier loads, both in the form of single vehicles, and entire sets of small satellites.

It should be recalled that the United States can use not only specialized satellites to combat spacecraft in low orbits. In 2008 as an anti-satellite weapons tested the SM-3 missile of the ship's anti-aircraft complex. She successfully hit an orbital target at an altitude of approx. 240 km. It cannot be ruled out that the development of this direction has continued, and newer rockets are able to reach higher orbits.

follow and respond

Potential threats in space from the United States or other countries are not new to the Russian military. Our army has a variety of means to monitor the situation in space, and can also take retaliatory measures of a different nature, up to direct attacks. It is noteworthy that full information about such a potential of the Russian army remains unknown, but the available data speak volumes.

Observation of outer space and tracking of orbital objects is assigned to different complexes and systems. The Okno optoelectronic complex, which includes several telescopes, is widely known. A variety of radar and other systems are also used. Information from all such means enters the 821st main center for reconnaissance of the space situation, where it is processed and issued to consumers.

Launcher of the "Nudol" system. Photo bmpd.livejorunal.com

It is known about the existence and operation of various anti-satellite / anti-space systems. According to various sources, a whole set of tools with different principles of action is used to counter the orbital grouping of a potential enemy. So, for temporary suppression of targets, electronic warfare stations and the Peresvet laser complex can be used. The interception of orbital targets can be carried out by the S-500 and Nudol air defense / missile defense systems.

There is also a space train. Foreign sources regularly report on the work of Russian inspector satellites. Such products change orbits without warning, study the satellites of third countries - and cause concern. At the same time, a complete list of their functions and capabilities, for obvious reasons, is unknown.

Development prospects

Thus, at the disposal of the Russian armed forces there is a fairly large space group with all the necessary capabilities. Its development continues, and as a result of these processes, the value of the grouping for the army as a whole is growing. At the same time, the risks associated with the influence of the enemy increase. The potential adversary, in turn, develops methods and means of combating our grouping.

Profile structures and organizations closely monitor the work of foreign colleagues and study their plans and achievements. This analysis allows us to determine the current risks and clarify plans for the further development of our military space industry. This approach has been used for a long time and has proven itself well. This means that new challenges and threats, incl. in the form of small combat space assets, will receive the necessary response, and our satellites will remain safe.

Comments

[Codett]

I read not so long ago an interesting article there was the following. According to the Expert of the Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies Sergey Denisentsev. The problem of the same starlink is not that it is technically possible to bring them down, but legally this would be regarded as an act of aggression against the states. At the same time, Elon Musk claims that attempts to destroy his man-made constellations with anti-satellite missiles are a failed idea from a technical point of view. He said that with the current number of Starlink satellites - according to him, there are about two thousand of them in orbit now - "a lot" of rockets will be required and SpaceX will in any case launch new batches of their devices faster than anti-satellite missiles can be launched. theoretically, it is possible to use means of electronic warfare, abbreviated as electronic warfare. These are ground or aviation (airborne stations) that "jam" enemy satellites. There is a wide variety of such stations, and they all perform different tasks, the expert said. Since Starlink is a new page in the history of communication systems, EW systems have not yet been created specifically for it. It is possible to use stations adapted to suppress a wide range of frequencies, but in practice this will not be very effective. The problem is that there are already quite a lot of them in orbit, and the density is quite high, and in order to stably jam them, you need to have electronic warfare systems located close to the receiver of the signal, that is, directly to the subscriber. To jam, you need, firstly, to know the frequencies at which the signal is transmitted, this is solved by means of electronic intelligence, and secondly, the power of the transmitter with which you jam must be higher than the power of the transmitted signal, or it must be much closer than source. Another problem is that the means of electronic warfare themselves become visible targets for the enemy during their use, the expert noted. You turn on a powerful emitter, which, of course, will, in simple terms, be "heard", "seen" by the enemy's electronic intelligence systems, in this case, the electronic intelligence systems of NATO countries, because Ukraine does not have its own, but NATO systems provide them with information , including American satellite systems that monitor all broadcasts in the conflict zone. In general, something like that.

[Blackmokona]

Already more than three thousand satellites and is growing rapidly.
Electronic warfare has been created and is constantly being created, but SpaceX improves the satellites themselves and the software for them much faster, which allows it to completely ignore electronic warfare

[ont65]

Musk advertises his products everywhere in the same form in which he sold them to the Pentagon, and advertising and the truth of life are two big differences. Its satellites cannot change orbits, and the garbage put into a highly elliptical orbit intersecting with the constellation route with precession will quickly make it unusable, and at the same time others in the ellipse plane. There are also more subtle, in addition to cosmo-mining, means of electronic warfare of energetic impact. And there is no need for the state to worry about private satellites. The undermining of the US gas transportation system has set a precedent and Musk is aware of the events.

[Blackmokona]

Quote: ont65

Musk advertises his products everywhere in the same form in which he sold them to the Pentagon, and advertising and the truth of life are two big differences. Its satellites cannot change orbits, and the garbage put into a highly elliptical orbit intersecting with the constellation route with precession will quickly make it unusable, and at the same time others in the ellipse plane. There are also more subtle, in addition to cosmo-mining, means of electronic warfare of energetic impact. And there is no need for the state to worry about private satellites. The undermining of the US gas transportation system has set a precedent and Musk is aware of the events.

Its satellites can change orbits, all of them are equipped with ion engines with a good supply of fuel. They demonstrate their ability to change orbits even during launch, they are dropped much lower than their regular operating altitude and they rise to it. They also have an automatic evasion system, they take NORAD data and automatically build their trajectories to dodge any threats.

[Civil]

And where are the crowds, let's say, of people with below average intelligence, with exclamations of "Musk is a scammer, a starlink cut money"?

[KCA]

Starlink satellites are simple repeaters between the consumer and the ground station, the I/O connection is provided by the ground station in Pshekia, if it is turned off, this whole swarm of satellites will become useless, like a swarm of flies over a garbage dump

[Blackmokona]

Quote: KCA

Starlink satellites are simple repeaters between the consumer and the ground station, the I/O connection is provided by the ground station in Pshekia, if it is turned off, this whole swarm of satellites will become useless, like a swarm of flies over a garbage dump

Since version 1.5 of satellites, they have laser communication lines with each other. Therefore, it will not work, and satellites of version 2.0 Mini are already rising into space.

[KCA]

Not everything is so simple, the satellites are not in geostationary orbit, the Earth is a geoid, the orbit is circular or ellipse, the satellites will constantly lose each other, respectively, look for another, in direct line of sight, build a route to the one closest to the gateway, which, in turn, will leave the zone visibility, and there will be such a leapfrog with jumps from satellite to satellite and to the gateway that there will be no talk of high-quality communication, so laser communication satellite-satellite-gateway does not give any advantage compared to radio communication, well, only speed in ideal conditions , which can last only a couple of seconds, and the rest of the time all the same communication failures, if Starlink terminals are repeated in Russia, you can simply rivet tens of thousands of them and flood all satellite communications

[Blackmokona]

Quote: KCA

Not everything is so simple, the satellites are not in geostationary orbit, the Earth is a geoid, the orbit is circular or ellipse, the satellites will constantly lose each other, respectively, look for another, in direct line of sight, build a route to the one closest to the gateway, which, in turn, will leave the zone visibility, and there will be such a leapfrog with jumps from satellite to satellite and to the gateway that there will be no talk of high-quality communication, so laser communication satellite-satellite-gateway does not give any advantage compared to radio communication, well, only speed in ideal conditions , which can last only a couple of seconds, and the rest of the time all the same communication failures, if Starlink terminals are repeated in Russia, you can simply rivet tens of thousands of them and flood all satellite communications

Given the number of satellites and the speed of modern electronics, everything is working fine now. Also there, AFAR and all our satellite terminals can simply be ignored. Directing antennas to other points. They are fairly accurate. These are completely different communications satellites than existed before the arrival of the Musk.

[UserGun]

I advise you to learn the materiel before writing such nonsense.

[cold wind]

Quote: Codett

in order to consistently jam them, it is necessary that the electronic warfare systems be close to the signal receiver,

Worse. The REP aircraft must fly between the subscriber and the satellite. Directed communication channel.
The satellite itself is virtually impossible to jam.

[KCA]

Worse, AFAR are easily jammed, instead of the native signal from the emitter, there is a full r, which is not decrypted and has no affiliation, AFAR communication is established after the exchange of packets between the terminal, satellites and the gateway on the ground, and it’s impossible to fill up the channel, like, get acquainted with hackers who bomb banks for millions, open a cheap civilian network like two fingers on asphalt, I won’t be modest, I don’t know much about how and what, they didn’t dedicate me, and I corresponded 20 years ago, but my acquaintance is completely lost, no one knows where and who, dumping a network of 4000 computers was a joke to him, he studied in the 8th grade

[Blackmokona]

Quote: KCA

Worse, AFAR are easily jammed, instead of the native signal from the emitter, there is a full r, which is not decrypted and has no affiliation, AFAR communication is established after the exchange of packets between the terminal, satellites and the gateway on the ground, and it’s impossible to fill up the channel, like, get acquainted with hackers who bomb banks for millions, open a cheap civilian network like two fingers on asphalt, I won’t be modest, I don’t know much about how and what, they didn’t dedicate me, and I corresponded 20 years ago, but my acquaintance is completely lost, no one knows where and who, dumping a network of 4000 computers was a joke to him, he studied in the 8th grade

For a year now, Russian hackers and electronic warfare specialists have been attacking Starlink and no effect.

[KCA]

Was it on Twitter or hand-book told you? What it is, in fact, who will tell?

[Blackmokona]

Quote: KCA

Was it on Twitter or hand-book told you? What it is, in fact, who will tell?

At the Pentagon, words from Musk, and just common sense. That Russia has long recognized the problem and is making every effort to solve it.

[paul3390]

And how does atmospheric ionization affect GPS? Okay - let's remove the nuclear explosion in orbit from consideration, but let's say:

On the night of May 29-30, 1973, the Zarnitsa experiment was carried out for the first time in the Soviet Union. With the help of the MP-12 meteorological rocket, an artificial aurora was created at altitudes of 100-180 km. The rocket carried an electron accelerator developed by the Institute of Electric Welding named after E. O. Patop of the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR. When it left the atmosphere, at an altitude of about 100 km, an electron "gun" directed streams of charged particles into near-Earth space. The energy of electrons in the beam ranged from 7,5 to 10 thousand eV at a power of the entire beam of about 400 kW. At the 200th second of the flight, the rocket reached its maximum altitude - 163 km. The experiment lasted 232 seconds on the ascending and descending branches of the rocket's flight path, causing a pink aurora-like glow in the sky.


Or from, for example, sputtering in the upper layers of barium?

During the KiNet-X experiment, the Black Brant Xll geophysical rocket was used, which delivered seven modules with a payload into outer space at once.

At the same time, two of the modules contained barium vapor, which were sprayed at an altitude of about 400 km. In the other modules, special instruments were placed, the main purpose of which was to study the interaction of the magnetic field of our planet with charged particles.

In the course of this experiment, NASA engineers managed to form a man-made aurora, which could be observed even over Bermuda and on the East coast of North America.

[Maxim Davydov]

And how does atmospheric ionization affect GPS?

For example, read about ionospheric delay.

[Sumotori_380]

Paton Institute. The Soviet scientist was with such a surname.

[SwR9]

No need to shoot down anything, you need to disable it with laser weapons. "Peresvet" will be able to snap them like nuts per hour, 20-30 pieces. Moreover, no one can prove the damage, the satellites will simply go out of order for an unknown reason.

[Maks1995]

About nothing in fact.
for all the good, against all the bad.

But in real life - who has the economic ability to withdraw a lot - he will withdraw.
And that at the same time the number of "inspectors" and "spies" will increase as well as commercial satellites - it is logical.

And there are also mini-shuttles, reusable, returnable, etc.
So it reminds me of the tale of the fox and the grapes. Well, you see...

[Arsen1]

So, for temporary suppression of targets, electronic warfare stations and the Peresvet laser complex can be used.

pseudoscientific nonsense. Calculate how powerful the laser should be and how big the spot will be at the height of the satellite's orbit. I generally keep quiet about electronic warfare.

[SwR9]

What power? Read what is focus.

[Blackmokona]

Quote from: SwR9

What power? Read what is focus.

Even the best focus gives a huge spot at such distances. Otherwise, the tanks would have been burned with lasers for a long time, killing the crew in the head.

[vadim dok]

There is one question: Does "Peresvet" exist?

[KCA]

The USSR irradiated the Moon with a laser, the spot was 11 meters in diameter, but the Moon is a little further than the satellite orbit, even geostationary

[Sumotori_380]

3 km diameter spot. 25 square kilometers area

[Knell wardenheart]

It is noteworthy that full information about such a potential of the Russian army remains unknown, but the available data speaks volumes.

After 24.2.22/XNUMX/XNUMX, I have considerable skepticism about such significant statements. If the degree of the state of much more open areas of our aircraft was estimated by ordinary people and a significant part of the expert community with such errors, then there is no certainty that the degree of state of more closed areas is qualitatively better. The presence of any objects does not at all mean that they work correctly, are included in networks with related objects that meet the challenges and scale of the task, provide them with computing power to perform tasks in wartime or a threatened period.

The same "Nudoli" - well, cool, but how many will we "give birth" to such missiles? And how many potential. targets to destroy the enemy.
A suitable solution for the destruction of small-sized vehicles should be either a powerful mobile (or silo-based) LO, or an air-based LO complex, or the formation of a satellite constellation of vehicles armed with so-called "beam weapons" capable of undetectable (for ground services) incapacitating enemy devices with a minimum expenditure of the mass of ammunition. Or, as an option for preparing a "doomsday war", we, in principle, need to minimize dependence on our satellite constellation and prepare to clear the orbit with "special munitions".

Other options are a race that we are obviously losing in economic terms.

[Andre]

I remember an old Soviet joke. It's about Shoya. A man comes to the Kremlin and shouts...Where is THIS??? Comrade, don't be rude. Why are you breaking the rules? And he again ... where is IT? What do you need comrade? Well, we sang all the time .... "And as one we will die in the struggle for THIS !!!" (for those who don't remember or don't understand, the Internet song will help) I ask whereeeee IS THIS? This question is the most relevant today in many areas. Everyone is already asking where are the guilty??? Eee SILENCE.

[usm5]

This information indicates that war in space is inevitable. I believe that in the current situation, a victorious war in space is the only relatively bloodless way to bring NATO to the negotiating table on favorable terms for the Russian Federation. Firstly, their satellites must be equipped with a defeat evasion system. Secondly, it may be necessary to create defense satellites with directional weapons, which are designed to shoot down enemy weapons in a protected area of ​​\uXNUMXb\uXNUMXbouter space. A cleaning satellite with an electromagnetic gun and a ballistic computer that shoots small metal balls would not hurt. Such a satellite should engage targets while in a higher orbit. In this case, the metal ball will not only hit the target, but also give it an impulse, which will ensure the subsequent de-orbiting of the affected satellite with subsequent combustion in the atmosphere. Thirdly, it's time to clear outer space of debris. The use of small-sized nuclear reactors on paired satellites will create a magnetic field between them, bumping into which space debris and harmful objects will slow down, burn out and go out of orbit.
And it's time to declare sovereignty over certain areas of outer space. And then we live like aquarium fish under the constant supervision of NATO.

[Rinat Khametov]

The start of the Union with a truck of nails, all this disgrace will be swept from orbit ... and that’s all.
This recipe was invented back in the days of the notorious SDI

[Blackmokona]

Quote: Rinat Khametov

The start of the Union with a truck of nails, all this disgrace will be swept from orbit ... and that’s all.
This recipe was invented back in the days of the notorious SDI

This is a myth that doesn't work. It will require a monstrous number of nails in a monstrous number of orbits. Thousands of rockets to litter all orbits. Space is huge. Plus, what prevents the SDI from shooting down the Unions, these are the same ICBMs only much larger and much easier to defeat.

[Mustached Kok]

Not really. After all, debris in orbit, colliding with working satellites, generates even more debris, but with a deviation. As a result, within a month, the garbage is already able to create a sphere at a certain height on Earth. But the needles are really weak. Too thin and light, they will burn faster than they will have time to damage something. Yes, and the protection of the devices is already designed for small debris and micrometeorites. For such purposes, it is better to use heavy lead or steel spheres. The area will be low, due to which the deceleration will be slower, but at the same time the fragment itself will be quite dense and massive.

Although, in fact, targeted orbital debris is also a means of mass destruction. Firstly, garbage does not choose a target, it simply clogs the orbit and therefore threatens both our satellites and the satellites of neutral country-companies. But okay, satellites, they threaten astronauts, regardless of their citizenship and nationality. And massive scrapping of satellites in orbit due to a sharp increase in the amount of debris can lead to a regular and uncontrolled loss of satellites. Which will lead to the problem that satellites will begin to threaten people of completely different countries on earth with their frequent and uncontrolled falls. Imagine that the satellite will fall into the forest and start a fire. Or fragments will fall at night over a large area of ​​the agricultural region and destroy many tons of crops. Or the most unpleasant, due to uncontrolled falling, they will already fall into cities and villages.

As a result, with massive clogging, it becomes difficult, or even impossible, to launch new rockets / satellites. Therefore, in case of clogging, it will be necessary to wait out the "quarantine" period. When within a few years, rockets are not launched at all, in order to give time for most of the garbage to burn up in the atmosphere, and not to feed the orbit with a new source of garbage.

[dfk-80]

From the earth's surface to an orbit of 100 km, approximately 50 million km3. Those. orbits from 200 to 500 km is more than 150 million km3. If you send a nail of 1 grams per 3 km10, it won’t hit anywhere, but all this mass will weigh 1500 tons, excluding container and delivery. Isn't it easier to immediately make space cruisers, well, or already a death star.

[dfk-80]

The main thing is that this center does not turn into another analogue; there are no analogues, but in fact, zilch.
I don’t see any problems at all in launching a scientific or meteorological satellite into orbit, inside of which there are an additional thousand small rackets with an engine and 100 gr. VV. At the right moment, hiding behind a flash in the sun, they are released. Starlink orbits are very well known. You can have fun and add fuel instead of explosives and just push the starlinks out of orbit or deploy them with antennas into space, smear antennas or oil solar panels with metallic paint. In any case, Elon is lying - 1000 missiles are not needed, 10-100 are enough, with a sufficient number of warheads and a little time.

[Tim666]

Quote: Mustache Cock

Not really. After all, debris in orbit, colliding with working satellites, generates even more debris, but with a deviation. As a result, within a month, the garbage is already able to create a sphere at a certain height on Earth. But the needles are really weak. Too thin and light, they will burn faster than they will have time to damage something. Yes, and the protection of the devices is already designed for small debris and micrometeorites. For such purposes, it is better to use heavy lead or steel spheres. The area will be low, due to which the deceleration will be slower, but at the same time the fragment itself will be quite dense and massive.

Although, in fact, targeted orbital debris is also a means of mass destruction. Firstly, garbage does not choose a target, it simply clogs the orbit and therefore threatens both our satellites and the satellites of neutral country-companies. But okay, satellites, they threaten astronauts, regardless of their citizenship and nationality. And massive scrapping of satellites in orbit due to a sharp increase in the amount of debris can lead to a regular and uncontrolled loss of satellites. Which will lead to the problem that satellites will begin to threaten people of completely different countries on earth with their frequent and uncontrolled falls. Imagine that the satellite will fall into the forest and start a fire. Or fragments will fall at night over a large area of ​​the agricultural region and destroy many tons of crops. Or the most unpleasant, due to uncontrolled falling, they will already fall into cities and villages.

As a result, with massive clogging, it becomes difficult, or even impossible, to launch new rockets / satellites. Therefore, in case of clogging, it will be necessary to wait out the "quarantine" period. When within a few years, rockets are not launched at all, in order to give time for most of the garbage to burn up in the atmosphere, and not to feed the orbit with a new source of garbage.

But the quarantine period will not be several years, but 50 years, if not 100, if we count high orbits, and at this time, launching any object into orbit will be fraught with risk

[agond]

To the question of the possibility of local "clogging" of satellite orbits in order to put them out of action, the most optimal option is tungsten balls with a diameter of about 1 mm, while the orbits of the balls themselves must be in the equatorial plane, that is, cross most of the possible orbits of any other satellites. The direction of movement of the balls along their orbits should be to meet the rotation of the Earth, although this is energy. more expensive .. A microsatellite with a supply of balls "sprays" them at the calculated point until its orbit intersects with the enemy satellite's orbit., thereby creating a local dangerous area for it

[Boris Manzhela]

Quote from usm5

This information indicates that war in space is inevitable.

Despite the theme of supposedly final failure and futility brought into the minds of the average person by the media due to the economic inefficiency of the further use of reusable spacecraft (the Buran + Energia projects in the USSR and the Space Shuttle in the USA), work is proceeding quietly (and quite successfully) both in the USA and in China.
On the US side there is success with the Boeing X-37 (also known as the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV)), which from 2010 to 2022 carried out at least 6 successful flights (the last one was 2.5 years), and on the Chinese side CSSHQI - " “dark horse”, on which, most likely, like the American one, the issue of deploying space-based nuclear weapons is being worked out, rather than reconnaissance equipment or civilian research scientific programs, for which conventional satellites and the ISS are quite sufficient.
And only space Russia, alas, degraded and rolled back in space to the level of the 60s of the last century, again becoming a rogue country behind the Iron Curtain, only now this curtain has been raised from the outside.