Defence policy, space, cyberspace, metaverse, Lunapolitics and geopolitics wonk. Co-founder of @AstroAnalytica Слава Україні! 🇺🇦
United Kingdom
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John B. Sheldon retweeted
Russian hybrid warfare in the space domain, targeting Starlink’s ground segment.
As @AstroAnalytica keeps warning, it’s the exposed ground segment that’s the real “thin waist” of space capability.
NEW: 🇵🇱 A fire broke out at a Starlink ground station in Poland, in Wola Krobowska, Mazovia, with firefighters reportedly treating it as arson.
The fire damaged the station’s power supply infrastructure, while a power generator was also damaged. Police took over the scene, with Poland’s Internal Security Agency (ABW) and Central Police Bureau of Investigation (CBŚP) also notified.
The station is operated by Exatel, Poland’s state-owned telecommunications company. The infrastructure at the site is used to transmit internet traffic across Poland and to Ukraine, and it also supports SpaceX systems providing connectivity through Starlink terminals.
Deputy Prime Minister and Digital Affairs Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski said there are indications that this could be another element of hybrid warfare and a deliberate attempt to disrupt an important internet hub.
He stressed that it is too early to say who was responsible, but said the incident fits a broader pattern of sabotage threats against critical infrastructure.
The fire was extinguished and services are investigating the circumstances
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I had the great pleasure to sit down with @EngelsbergIdeas podcast to discuss my two favourite topics, geopolitics and space, and all things in between!!
🎧The EI Podcast: Space and the new clash of civilisations
Earlier this month, the US confirmed for the first time that it had deployed a space weapon in Earth’s orbit. @JohnBSheldon and @jackfdickens discuss the fight for extraterrestrial supremacy.
engelsbergideas.com/podcast/…
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John B. Sheldon retweeted
Key statement by @ChiefofAirStaff today: “UK Defence is now developing capabilities for orbital warfare.”
Sounds interesting? Then read my @ConGeostrategy report on precisely this topic, published this summer: “Embracing Orbital Warfare” 👇
geostrategy.org.uk/all-resea…
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The 2026 UK Space Strategy has arrived, and Britain is finally beginning to take space seriously.
It’s a significant improvement because it treats space not simply as an economic sector, but as an instrument and enabler of national power.
A short thread 🧵1/6
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That means responsive launch + satellites & payloads ready to go, mfg. capacity, resilient ground infrastructure, alternative SATCOM/PNT, & exercises demonstrating that capability can actually be restored under pressure.
Otherwise, “responsive space” remains rhetoric. 5/6
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The Strategy gets much of the strategic logic right.
Now comes the difficult part: implementation.
The test by 2030 should be whether Britain has greater agency in space:
Understand → Decide → Act → Endure → Regenerate. END 🧵6/6 orbitalforesight.substack.co…
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John B. Sheldon retweeted
🛰️ If Britain is embracing autonomy at sea and in the air, why not in space?
Graeme Ritchie, CEO of Shield Space, argues that the principles underpinning the Royal Navy's Hybrid Navy and the Royal Air Force's Collaborative Combat Aircraft should also extend into orbit, where autonomous and distributed space systems could strengthen Britain’s resilience, responsiveness, and operational advantage.
🔗 Read the full #Memorandum for #BritainsWorld here: britainsworld.org.uk/p/the-m…
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Is there really a distinct “#space economy”?
Or is space becoming so deeply embedded in logistics, telecoms, defence, cloud, AI, and other terrestrial systems that the distinction is becoming less useful?
A thread on my latest @AstroAnalytica analysis. 🧵1/7
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Europe needs more than “strategic autonomy.” It needs agency: the ability to choose, substitute, withstand disruption, & prevent unacceptable external leverage.
The paradox: The less distinct the “space economy” becomes, the more strategically consequential space becomes. 6/7
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Read my latest essay for @AstroAnalytica: astroanalytica.com/research/… END 🧵7/7
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John B. Sheldon retweeted
We’re in orbit! And just made European history: This is the first time a privately developed rocket reached orbit from continental Europe; and a testament to the dedication, expertise, and teamwork of everyone involved.
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A common assumption about #space warfare is that a peer conflict will begin with a “space Pearl Harbor”: satellites are destroyed, one side is rendered blind, deaf, and dumb, and that this enables a rapid terrestrial victory.
That assumption is becoming outdated. 🧵 1/9
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More satellites, responsive launch, & hardened architectures are sensible investments. But tech can’t tell leaders what an opponent intends, when restraint will be reciprocated, or which risks are tolerable.
Instability is the condition strategy & statecraft exist to manage. 8/9
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Read my latest for @AstroAnalytica - The Changing Character of Space Warfare and its Implications 9/9 END 🧵 astroanalytica.com/research/…
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