In September 1985, the US Air Force used an F-15 Eagle to destroy an orbiting satellite. The event remains one of the most unusual demonstrations of air power in history—showing that space was not a sanctuary, and that the common fighter jet could be used as a space denial weapon. The test revealed the technical reach of US air power, while serving as a warning to the strategic dangers of weaponizing space in the decades to come. 

During the Cold War, satellites began trending towards the central role they have come to occupy in the way humans live their lives. The “Space Race” began in 1957 with the launch of the Soviet Sputnik-1 satellite, the first artificial satellite in human history. The following year, Congress created NASA, which began to pursue its own satellite program.

By the 1980s, satellites had become essential for reconnaissance, early warning, and communications, causing both the US and USSR to worry about satellite vulnerability. Space had become a critical frontier, yet remained largely undefended; the US began exploring multiple anti-satellite weapon (ASAT) concepts, from ground-launched interceptors to space-based systems to air-launched weapons—the latter of which proved promising, with the offer of flexibility, surprise, and rapid deployment. 

On September 13,........

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