Space is getting a little safer for satellites providing imagery, communication, weather data and many other commercial services with the creation of a new industry watch center in Colorado Springs.

The Space Information Sharing and Analysis Center is getting started just as threats to commercial satellites are ramping up from the countries, such as Russia and China.

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For example, adversarial nations have launched satellites that can get close enough to listen in on the signals other satellites are sending and, in some cases, threaten those satellites, said Frank Backes, board chairman for the new center and a senior vice president with Kratos. At times, satellites can come within 3 miles of each other – dangerous at the high speed of orbital travel. 

“What we are seeing is much more aggressive activity,” he said.

For private companies to face that threat alone is a big task.

So the industry is pooling their resources and expertise into the new center to share information about threats, such as spying satellites or cyberattacks on space systems, Backes said.

“Our job is to help alert people when threats are coming or what the threats are going to be,” he said.

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The goal is to allow companies to operate through the threats, just as computers can fend off a malware attack, he said.

The center has 64 commercial members so far and has partnered with 30 governmental agencies worldwide, according to a news release. It will employ 10 analysts in its facility, the same building as the National Cyber Security Center along North Nevada Avenue, and other analysts from member companies can assist remotely.

It is an effort that was four years in the making and started at the request of the White House and the National Science and Technology Council, Backes said.

However, some of the main threats the center will tackle have been informed by the war in Ukraine and the attacks on satellites that have happened there, he said.

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The center’s work will help protect the space industry’s recent rapid growth by ensuring their services stay available and functional, said board member Kevin Coggins, vice president with Booz Allen Hamilton. If one member company experiences an attack, all the others can address the issue and be more prepared.

“All of a sudden, you are outpacing the adversary,” he said.

Colorado Springs is an ideal location for the center, because of the existing space infrastructure, Backes said.

“Colorado Springs represents the epicenter of operations for space systems. On a global basis, there is more space operations command and control being operated out of Colorado Springs than any other central location in the world,” he said.