The US should secure strategic positions between the Earth and the Moon before China

The House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the US and the Chinese Communist Party recently unveiled a strategy called: “Reset, Prevent, Build: A Strategy to Win America’s Competition with the Chinese Communist Party.” One suggestion is for the US military to safeguard the Earth moon Lagrange Points — areas where the Earth and moon’s gravities nullify each other — against Chinese influence. The committee advocates backing NASA’s and the Department of Defense’s (DOD) programs vital for thwarting China's negative intent in space, by ensuring the US is the first country to station assets permanently at all Lagrange Points. The nature of these assets and their use for securing these points is left to NASA and DOD.

Potential assets may include satellites placed at the L1, L2, L4, and L5 points, some near the moon and others 60 degrees before and after the moon’s orbit around the Earth. These satellites can function as communication relays, navigation aids, and observation tools. China has already set up satellites at the L2 point to facilitate communication between lunar surface probes and Earth. However, plans for protecting the Earth moon Lagrange Points necessitate more than satellites, due to their susceptibility to malfunctions and enemy attacks.

SpaceX’s Starship, currently under development in South Texas, could potentially fill this role. Capable of lifting 150 tons to low-Earth orbit and, with refueling, flying to the moon and Mars, this colossal rocket forms NASA’s strategy for lunar landings and is fundamental to Elon Musk’s visions of a Mars colony. With adaptations, it could fulfil Congress’s directive to safeguard the Earth Moon Lagrange points.

Representations of the Starship operating as a space station have already emerged, replacing current station plans calling for multiple module launches. A Starship could be designated for each Lagrange Point in a similar way to how the US Navy assigns warships to critical points in the ocean, not only serving as a communication relay, navigation aid, and observation tool but also equipped for self-defense.

However, challenges must be overcome for the Starship to function as a long-term space vessel. These include the issues caused by the heating of cryogenic fuels, which can be solved through insulation, active cooling methods, or a combination of the two. Also, considerations need to be made over the type of defensive weaponry. To avoid creating space debris, jamming or disabling attacks would be preferred over missile-based ones. Crewed or uncrewed Starships could be used, with crews involved in defense-related research and technology development. Additionally, these Starships could be periodically returned to Earth for repairs and replacements. Though this initiative may raise concerns about militarizing space, a comprehensive approach to maintaining a peace-through-strength stance in space is arguably more concrete than a treaty.