While the new Russian satellite didn't get super close to any others, its behavior "could be considered unfriendly," said Slingshot's Audrey Schaffer, who until recently served as the director of space policy at the National Security Council.
Models shared exclusively with Breaking Defense offer a rare glimpse into nation-on-nation run-ins in space as satellites follow, flee, and, allegedly, listen in on each other.
The challenge for Western democratic institutions is not a lack of capability — it is a structural one.
"I think maybe there is a mutual assured destruction in space," Rep. Lamborn said, "where no one will go there because the consequences will be too severe."