As Satellite News was going to press, news came over the wire services that the U.S. military began a five-day war game to see how space-based assets such as satellite communications and precision bomb guidance systems would fare in a hypothetical war against terrorism in 2020.

“This is not warfare in space. Our focus is how to best use our space-based assets to coordinate the joint terrestrial fight,” said Brig. Gen. Daniel Darnell, commander of the Space Warfare Center at Schriever Air Force Base in Colorado in a statement.

Throughout the past ten years, the U.S. military has increased its usage of satellites to relay communications, transmit high-resolution imagery; track U.S. forces; spot enemy missiles and guide precision munitions to their targets. The classified tabletop war game, the third focused primarily on space, involves 250 military and civilian experts from about 20 federal agencies, and officials from Canada, Australia and Britain, all gathered at the isolated base on the plains east of Colorado Springs.