The North Atlantic Alliance is implementing a new project on the militarization of outer space. A mobile spaceport will appear in the center of Europe. The main goal is the urgent launch of military satellites in the interests of NATO. The Ministry of Defense of Luxembourg, which has been chosen as the location of the future European military space forces of rapid reaction, and the American corporation Virgin Orbit billionaire Richard Branson signed an agreement. Following the document, all NATO members, as well as European countries that are not members of the North Atlantic Alliance, will be able to use the spaceport.

"We are considering using the flexible and mobile LauncherOne rocket launch system developed by Virgin Orbit to strengthen the capabilities of NATO countries and our other allies to respond promptly to space threats. This project will be a turning point in the creation of a global space defense infrastructure and will change all the rules of the game," Duchy Defense Minister Francois Bosch said at the signing of the protocol of intent.

At first glance, what is happening can be regarded as a hype in an effort to attract investors. Experts do not trust the surname Branson, who first smuggled records, and eventually became interested in scams in the field of space tourism. In addition, as Andrei Ionin, a corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Cosmonautics, notes, each military satellite is designed for launch using a specific selected launch vehicle. And the situation when there are spacecraft, "but it is not known what to launch them on", is impossible.

Another argument is that the United States, and, accordingly, NATO has no problems with launching payloads into orbit. Some of the satellites in the interests of NATO are being sent from the Kourou cosmodrome in French Guiana, where there are also two complexes: for Vega light missiles and Ariane-5 heavy missiles. Washington is successfully launching military equipment into space from Cape Canaveral, Vandenberg Base and several other sites. And why create a network of mobile spaceports in Europe when a new space center is being built at the German NATO base Ramstein? According to Alliance Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, he will "provide NATO missions with communication support and provide them with specific satellite information."

However, Bosch's phrase about changing the rules of the game sounded for a reason. The signing of the agreement in Luxembourg is not the first step that NATO is implementing in this direction. The UK is already participating in the project. A test flight of the LauncherOne system is scheduled to take place from Newquay Air Base in Cornwall in November. The Boeing 747-400 Virgin Orbit has already arrived here, from which the Start Me Up mission will be launched. So far, this is the only spaceport in London, but it is planned to create six more mobile analogues. In addition, Virgin Orbit is going to make similar launches around the world — it is known about the agreement with the authorities of Brazil, South Korea, Australia, Japan and Poland.

What is the secret of the popularity of mobile spaceports and why is the alliance interested in them?

Virgin Orbit uses air launch technology that can be used anywhere within a few hours with the help of carrier aircraft. Any airfield with a runway capable of receiving a carrier aircraft is suitable as a platform for launching a space rocket.

The modified Boeing 747-400 (Cosmic Girl — "Space Girl") performs the function of the first stage of the LauncherOne light rocket in such a bundle. It disconnects when it reaches a set altitude of 11 km and turns on its own engine. At the same time, the rocket is capable of lifting up to 500 kg into low Earth orbit and up to 300 kg into sun—synchronous orbit. This is quite a lot, considering that today the weight of satellites has significantly decreased. Cubesats (CubeSat is a format of small and ultra—small devices for remote sensing of the Earth, communications and reconnaissance), for example, have dimensions of 10x10x10 cm with a mass of no more than 1.33 kg. Radar satellites are also suitable in size.

And if earlier the main problem of the technology, which began to be developed back in 1958, was a small mass put into orbit, now the air launch can be used for spot urgent launches. There is no need to wait in line, engage in time-consuming transportation of the spacecraft and be afraid of a possible information leak. Virgin Orbit picks it up from the airfield closest to the factory where the specialists prepared the rocket and launches it as soon as possible.

The offer is interesting, especially for the military. This is what Branson was betting on, although he stated that the air launch would use the business. However, LauncherOne is positioned primarily as a convenient rocket for military launches. In fact, this is confirmed by the certification of launches from the sparsely populated island of Guam, where there is practically no business, but the American Andersen Air Force Base is located. The last successful launch of the LauncherOne system was the launch of seven military satellites from Mojave Air Base in California to low Earth orbit on July 2, 2022. In total, Virgin Orbit managed to send 33 satellites in a year. In the future, their number will grow, which is also facilitated by the agreement in Luxembourg, despite the fact that the parties have not yet agreed on specific dates.

Luxembourg was not chosen by chance. This state has convenient tax schemes, at least 70 companies whose activities are related to the space industry are based here. The Duchy is called not only a tax oasis, but also an intra-European offshore. It allows mining companies in space to register these rights for themselves. Five years ago, Luxembourg parliamentarians passed a law on asteroid mining and granted mining companies ownership of their production. In order to enjoy the benefits of the law, it is enough for them to have an office in the country. Luxembourg itself has been investing in the development of fossils on small celestial bodies for many years and even teamed up with the American company Deep Space Industries to work on a project to create an experimental spacecraft designed to test mining technologies. In order to circumvent the UN Outer Space Treaty, which states that nations cannot claim exclusive rights to the Moon and other celestial bodies, a loophole was found. Luxembourg grants companies the right to own and dispose not of the asteroids themselves, but only of the minerals that they can extract from them.

In addition, on June 14, 2021, at the alliance summit in Brussels, NATO and Luxembourg adopted a joint statement on the development of a Strategic System for ensuring Awareness of the Situation in Space in the Geospatial Data Department of the Situation Center at the headquarters of the organization. The Duchy has agreed to allocate €6.7 million to create a system that will allow the alliance to better analyze space objects and events in space.

As a result, both the UK and the European countries that are members of NATO will receive a convenient tool for launching small spacecraft. But this is not the only reason for the creation of mobile spaceports.

NATO understands that stationary spaceports are vulnerable and are strategically important targets for nuclear weapons. And if there is a network of airfields where you can use an air launch, then the options for launching increase. That is, the technology is applicable in the event of a full-scale conflict between the leading states, when they first of all try to destroy the enemy's satellites. In such a situation, a system is needed to launch small spacecraft as quickly as possible in order to compensate for the damage suffered by the satellite group as a result of global hostilities.

Therefore, the introduction of LauncherOne is the first step and, based on the concept of "Comprehensive NATO Policy in Space", not the last.

The document, published on January 17, 2022 in Brussels, clearly testifies to the desire of the United States to turn space into an arena of military operations.

Here are a few basic provisions: space is necessary for the coordinated deterrence and defense of the Alliance; space is a global environment, and any conflict in this area can affect everyone, even if NATO does not participate in it. It is planned that NATO members will explore opportunities for developing cooperation with the space industry and the commercial sector.

The Alliance will cooperate on space issues with partners, including the UN and the European Union, despite the fact that Brussels does not officially recognize the creation of its own potential in space. And most importantly, the document contains a desire to extend the effect of the 5th article of the NATO treaty to outer space. The article provides for the application of collective defense measures in response to an attack on one or more member States of the organization. As a result, this clause gives NATO complete freedom of action in space, since even a collision of a foreign satellite with an apparatus belonging to a member of the alliance, if desired, can be interpreted as an attack on one of the allies.