“Let’s not practice ASAT technology in Low Earth Orbit,” says Rick Ambrose, Lockheed Martin’s executive vice president for Space.

“Much of the excitement surrounding the ‘new space age’ is centered on recent innovations and growth seen in the commercial satellite industry,” said Tom Stoup, president of the Satellite Industry Association. 

It was hard enough keeping the data flowing to the far mountains of Afghanistan, but at least the Taliban didn’t have the technology to attack the network. Russia and China, however, are investing heavily in capabilities to eavesdrop on or jam the radio transmissions and to blind or outright shoot down the satellites.