NATO MUltimedia

Have you ever wondered about what happens in space? How important it is in our everyday lives? Space is essential for you but also for NATO. Check out why.

Space is important to everyone. We all need space in our everyday lives: apps delivering food to your door, geo positioning, real-time traffic updates. But it’s also essential for NATO’s deterrence and defence. In 2019, Allies recognised space as a new operational domain, alongside air, land, sea and cyberspace.

More than half of the active satellites orbiting the Earth belong to NATO members or companies based on their territory. Satellites provide vital information for NATO activities, operations and missions, including collective defence, crisis response and counter-terrorism.

Space can be used for peaceful purposes as well as for security and defence. But it can also be used for aggression. Satellites can be hacked or jammed, which can harm Allies’ security and commercial interests.

Space is increasingly important to the Alliance's and Allies' security and prosperity.

—VOICEOVER—

Have you heard this before?
‘I need some space.’
Maybe you’ve said it to yourself.

What if this wasn’t about needing some space for a breather but needing space itself. You know, SPACE-space.

Technology used in space has an essential role in our everyday life. Thanks to a satellite, live events are streamed thousands of kilometres away.

Farmers forecast weather for crops.
Apps deliver food to your door, geo positioning and real-time traffic updates,
financial systems, computer data and mobile phone networks,
power grids.

That’s in addition to aviation, defence and communication systems.

Space is everywhere. And it’s getting busier.

NATO understands how important it is to protect our interconnected lives and economies, which depend on space technology. Protecting space is no small feat. Some countries already have the means to jam, hack and even destroy satellites.

NATO countries are responding by creating space commands and developing new technologies.

And NATO itself has its own Space Centre to support operations and missions, share information and coordinate Allied efforts.

NATO has also named space as an operational domain, making it equally important as air, land, sea and cyberspace. However, NATO has no plans to put weapons in space.

Now, add in the growth of what was once thought of as science fiction: commercial space flight. Space will become even busier as we begin a new era of space tourism.
As more people on Earth look to the skies, NATO is addressing critical questions.
How will we maintain our peace and safety, even as space becomes busier and more competitive?
How are Allies working together to ensure responsible behaviour in space?
So what happens up there really matters, and that’s why we’re already at work to keep space peaceful and free for everybody.

This is just the beginning of a vast, ongoing conversation as everyone realises we all need some space.