The US military plans to deploy military satellites around the moon! In response to China’s initial moon landing, up to 5 space vehicles

A schematic diagram of the cislunar space domain awareness mission drawn by the U.S. Air Force, showing the situation of satellites operating and monitoring around the moon. The US military is evaluating the deployment of up to five military space vehicles to prepare for the future expansion of the satellite network around the moon. (Photo: U.S. Air Force)

[Compiled by Chen Chengliang/Comprehensive Report] The US military’s space defense layout is extending from the earth’s orbit to the periphery of the moon. The U.S. Air Force issued a request for information (RFI) on November 2 to evaluate the construction of the "Cislunar Space System" (Cislunar Space System), with up to five space vehicles initially planned to support military mission requirements by the end of 2029.

The U.S. military science and technology website "Ars Technica" reported that this document is the Pentagon's initial step towards deploying military satellites around the moon. The military is asking private industry companies to propose quick, low-risk solutions. These initial vehicles may become "seed vehicles" in the future for the military to evaluate whether to further build a larger cislunar satellite galaxy. The Air Force plans to award up to five fixed-price preliminary design study contracts, and manufacturers must respond before November 24.

US military extends space defense to the moon

The most distant satellite of the U.S. Space Force is located in geosynchronous orbit about 36,000 kilometers from the earth. It is responsible for routine surveillance and missile warning. Nowadays, the US military has begun to set its sights on the farther earth and moon space, which is related to the background that the United States and China are accelerating their moon landing plans. As both parties plan to carry out manned lunar landing missions in the next few years, the few safe landing areas on the lunar south pole that are close to water ice resources have also attracted the attention of US officials.

Major General Stephen Purdy, who is in charge of advanced program procurement for the Space Force, said at an industry conference in October that the U.S. Secretary of Defense and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff have publicly regarded the cislunar space as a "warfighting domain." Chance Saltzman, former commander of the Space Force, said the military must prepare early to avoid being caught off guard when it needs to protect U.S. interests around the moon in the future.

The solicitation did not specify what specific missions the satellite would perform. According to the current concept proposed by the military, the cislunar space satellite may be responsible for tracking and identifying surrounding objects, navigation, communication and surveillance, and assisting the US military in controlling space activities near the moon.

In addition to this plan of up to five vehicles, the US military also has two single satellite missions under planning. The $75 million Oracle-M, led by the Air Force Research Laboratory, is scheduled to launch in mid-2027 and will move in the cislunar space to test technology for tracking and continuously mastering surrounding objects.

Another Oracle-Prime mission is scheduled to be ready for launch before the end of 2027. It plans to detect and track other satellites and space debris near the Lagrangian L1 point between the Earth and the moon. Compared with these two single-satellite missions, the plan consulted by the Air Force this time begins to evaluate the use of multiple vehicles to establish a more continuous military surveillance capability around the moon.