We have seen land battles, air battles, and naval battles in history, but will there be conflicts in the future that will force us into uncharted territory? As real-world technology gets closer to what science fiction concepts do, will we send our armies into the cold and deadly vacuum of outer space in the near future?
Technology has changed the way humans fight, and in today's technological conditions, weapons can fly thousands of miles per hour in the air, and a single weapon can destroy entire cities. Coupled with the fact that humans also want to explore the solar system more deeply – even for peaceful purposes – more and more countries are also forming "space forces" to ensure security. During the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union seemed to have been on the brink of space warfare on several occasions. At that time, both countries were reportedly developing space weapons, although neither was deployed.
Fast forward to today, the United States is expected to have an independent "U.S. Space Force", Russia has a Russian air and space force, India has a National Defense Space Agency, and other national militaries including China, britain, Canada and Australia have relevant departments to deal with the so-called "space threat". Above all, these sectors are committed to safeguarding their national interests in space – the satellites of nations, on which the modern world relies heavily. While much of this is done on the ground (and behind computer screens), will there be a day when we will see real armies facing each other on the front lines and battlefields of the New Age beyond the Earth's atmosphere? The life of a Space Force soldier will be unique.
On Earth, these soldiers would normally reside in troop garrisons, while the Space Force's garrisons would be built thousands of feet above the ground. The cost of transporting any materiel into space is close to astronomical, although private commercial companies have been working to reduce transportation costs. In any case, it is useless to send troops into space when needed. Instead, they must be stationed there for a long time in order to act as soon as they are notified.
At present, the International Space Station is an excellent one-off engineering feat. But if there were a Space Force on Earth, they would need countless such space stations; these space stations and the International Space Station have at least one biggest difference — they were built for war. Given that the maximum crew of the ISS is six astronauts, these new space stations will obviously be larger and even more advanced. The military budget is expected to slash spending on space exploration, but if these two are combined, we can at least expect to see rapid advances in technology.
Being asked to stay on top of their posts again, space soldiers will have to face incredibly long cycle shifts — perhaps for a year at a time. The longest single stay in the universe to date is 437 days and 18 hours, more than 14 months, a record set by Russian cosmonaut Valery Polyakov in 1995, but that record will continue to be broken as the military plans for colonization into space.
Astronauts in space are known to face a series of problems, such as how they will maintain their bodily functions, how they will be affected by radiation, and the psychological effects caused by long-term isolation.
Now, in addition to the above requirements, we also have to consider how to build an army, military training will be a completely different plate, so the "zero gravity" came into being.
At the most basic level, because they will be exposed to a microgravity environment, soldiers will have to exercise on specialized equipment, and they will need to spend more exercise time than they would otherwise have on Earth to avoid muscle atrophy. And further, since the traditional offensive route is replaced by zero gravity mode, how to move most efficiently in space will be their daily compulsory lesson, and all cases illustrate that it is important to ensure that they are not thrown into the "space no man's land", that is, the dangerous situation in which the route of travel cannot be changed.
Standard weapon training is even more peculiar, after all, what kind of weapons should space soldiers be equipped with? This problem has a long history, since the Cold War period, the great powers have thought that war may extend to space, because traditional weapons have recoil, will push people backwards, so the people began to design a new weapon program more suitable for the space environment. Their answer is that energy weapons, such as lasers and particle beams, are not only easier to maneuver, but also suitable for long-distance combat. While the missions of space teams may include some close-quarters combat – such as their rush into enemy ships – they mostly focus on long-range combat due to the vastness of space.
So the death rays in science fiction are actually not far away! And generally speaking, the space team will also have different classes, which look different. Some of the jobs and duties on the space base will be similar to those on Earth – intelligence officers gathering intelligence, engineers building ships, life support technology and communications personnel passing on information – will also have new positions, and the logistics team will be similar to mini NASA, managing ship launches and delegating missions from air control rooms... We will see the emergence of a whole new category of pilots who are able to fly all types of battleships. Regardless of their rank, they will dress differently! Traditional uniforms will be eliminated;
In its place are military-grade spacesuits designed to protect the wearer from radiation and enable them to breathe. While a standard parachute is not required, a separate jet propulsion device would provide a crucial "second chance" for anyone piloting a crashed spacecraft. This conclusion was reached by NASA in the 1980s with "manned maneuvering devices" (or MCUs). MMU allows cordless spacewalks, but has only been used briefly on a few missions.
In the future, when our technology evolves enough to wage war in space, an improved version of the jetpack will surely become standard equipment. To sum up, while the nation on Earth seems to be moving toward some form of space combat, it now appears to be more of a digital threat than a physical one — with the goal of shooting down satellites rather than sea-launched warships. However, if a real enemy appears in space (perhaps some kind of alien) then Earth will suddenly be forced to find a way to deal with it. If this happens tomorrow, then we will only have some dusty designs from the past and try to build on such a foundation. But, over time, we have no choice but to form a real, space-flying, united-front force that fits the small fantasies of science and technology in reality, and that's what would happen if there were a space force on Earth.
Related knowledge
NASA is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government responsible for the civil space program, as well as aviation and space research.
NASA was founded in 1958 as the National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics (NACA). The new institutions will have a clear civilian orientation and encourage the peaceful application of space science. Since its inception, much of America's space exploration efforts have been led by NASA, including the Apollo lunar mission, the Skylab space station, and later the space shuttle. NASA is supporting the International Space Station and overseeing the development of the Orion spacecraft, the space launch system, the commercial manned spacecraft and the planned Lunar Gateway space station. The agency is also responsible for the Launch Services Program, which provides oversight of launch operations and countdown management for NASA unmanned launches.
NASA's science focuses on better understanding earth through Earth observation systems; advancing solar physics through the efforts of the Science Mission Board's Heliophysical Research Program; exploring objects throughout the solar system using advanced robotic spacecraft such as New Horizons; and studying astrophysical topics such as the Big Bang through the Grand Observatory and related projects.
by:_swee,LZY,MorCapri