By Sylvia Demarest, Substack, 9/15/26
Introduction
On September 14, 2026, the US confirmed that for the first time that the US Space Force had stationed arms in earth’s orbit. Air Force Secretary Troy E. Meink did not provide details about the type of weapons or reveal when they had been deployed. The Space Force did not immediately respond to a request for comment. With this action the US becomes the first nation to place arms in space. This could result in a dangerous arms race, a war in space, or even the placement of nuclear weapons, in space.
China’s foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun, immediately urged the US to “stop expanding its military force and preparing for war in outer space.
Russia also criticized the move and said that the outer space much be kept “free of any weapons” and called for countries worldwide to make sure of that. “We are counting on broad international consolidation to continue working toward the complete demilitarization of space,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
Here’s the New York Times: “This is a response to Pentagon fears that China and Russia are making advances in space operations that could threaten U.S. ground forces as well as American satellites.”
“In 2024, The New York Times reported that American intelligence agencies had raised concerns that Russia could be planning to put a nuclear weapon in space, a threat that could disrupt satellite networks that are vital to everything from communications to military operations.”
“Shortly after President Trump returned to the White House last year, he signed an executive order to expand American air defenses, including the development and deployment of “space-based interceptors.” The project, named the Golden Dome, would be designed to guard against weapons such as hypersonic missiles, which Russia has deployed in Ukraine.”
“The United States, Russia and China began testing weapons capable of destroying satellites decades ago, but the United States has since disavowed such arms because they leave destructive debris fields in orbit.”
“In recent years, the Air Force started developing “low-debris-causing weapons” capable of disrupting or disabling enemy satellites, Frank Kendall, who served as Air Force secretary under President Joe Biden, told The Times in a 2024 interview.”
“Gen. Chance Saltzman, who served as the Space Force’s chief of space operations during the Biden and second Trump administrations until his retirement last month, told a Senate committee in 2023 that the new space weapons systems would be fully operational by 2026.”
“Neither Mr. Kendall nor Gen. Saltzman specified how the systems would work. Other former Pentagon officials have said they likely would include lasers, high-powered microwave systems or even U.S. satellites that can grab or move enemy satellites.”
“Mr. Kendall said in 2024 that it was prudent to recognize that space “is a place that can be used for military advantage.””
The US, under Trump, has taken the first step, a step that could lead to an arms race in space.
Speculation that the Space Force Destroyed a Chinese Satellite
On September 14th the Substack, Coffee and Covid, discussed the possible use by Iran of satellite images obtained from China to target US military bases in the Middle East. One attack resulted in the deaths of 3 US soldiers.
The Substack noted this article “Chinese Satellite Breaks Apart in Rare Orbit That Could Hold Debris for Centuries.” The Substack reported that “China’s six-month-old Yaogan-50 ‘reconnaissance’ satellite had experienced what aerospace professionals call an “anomalous event,” which is a technical phrase meaning the expensive spacecraft is now a large collection of much smaller and less expensive objects.”
The Substack noted that the monitoring website, Gunter’s Space Page, had dated the Yaogan-50’s breakup to around late July. On July 20th, President Trump tweeted, “Every time Iran kills an American Soldier they will pay for that killing many times over!”
The Substack concluded: “On July 20, Trump promised revenge. And around late July —days following the base strike— a Chinese military spy satellite in an exotic retrograde orbit abruptly became 47 commemorative diplomatic paperweights traveling several miles per second. To be fair, there is no proof that the United States transformed Yaogan-50 into Yaogan-1-through-47. Nor would there be. That’s the whole point.”
Let’s be clear–If the US Space Force destroyed this Chinese satellite, this was a very stupid thing to do and will surely rebound on the US in many very dangerous and unknown ways. A battle over satellites in space would represent an attack on civilization itself and could harm the US as much or more than Russia or China because the US is completely dependent of satellite imagery for communication, navigation, intelligence gathering, travel, and targeting. If this happened, it is another example of out-of-control militarism and would represent yet another idiotic decision on the part of Donald Trump, the consequences of which will outlast his term.
In response I left this comment on the Substack’s website:
“Given how dependent the US is on satellites, if the Space force did take out that Chinese satellite, it may be an act we will live to regret. Two can play this game and given how the US is using our satellites so that Ukraine can target and kill Russians, whatever kind of “gentleman’s agreement” the major powers had was breached long ago—by the US and NATO! Both China and Russia have the ability to target and destroy our satellites. If this is done at scale, satellites in space will no longer be safe because of all the debris. This is why wiser heads in Moscow and Beijing have not done something so foolish. If this satellite was intentionally destroyed, this is yet another example of a dangerous and unnecessary escalation.”
The History of the Space Force
On December 20, 2019, President Donald J. Trump signed into law legislation creating the first new armed service since 1947–the U.S. Space Force. The new armed service was part of the Defense Authorization Act of 2020 which authorized $738 billion for the US military. The legislation authorizes the organizing, training and equipping the Space Force.
“Space is the world’s newest warfighting domain,” Trump said at Andrews. “Amid grave threats to our national security, American superiority in space is absolutely vital. We’re leading, but we’re not leading by enough, and very shortly, we’ll be leading by a lot.”
Space Force will help the United States “deter aggression and control the ultimate high ground”, the president said. Since Trump took office, the US has spent almost $2.5 trillion on the military.
Later the Space Force’s mission was declared to be to “secure our Nation’s interest in, from, and to space.”
On Friday January 24th, 2020, the White House officially unveiled the seal of the new U S Space Force, with commentors immediately noting its similarity to the logo of the Star Fleet Command from Star Wars. Others pointed out that the Starfleet logo likely was based on the symbol used for the early US Army Air Forces, which used the delta symbol as well as early Air Force space organization emblems dating back to 1961.
“After consultation with our Great Military Leaders, designers, and others, I am pleased to present the new logo for the United States Space Force, the Sixth Branch of our Magnificent Military!” President Trump tweeted.
In early September 2026 President Trump sent out an image of the proposed Space Force uniforms. Again, this drew immediate comparisons to pop culture as resembling a Starfleet and uniforms likened to “Battleship Galactica” and “Star Wars”
Below is the design of the Space Force dress uniforms.
Militarism Uber Alles or as they say “live by the sword, die by the sword”.