Description
This paper examines the terrestrial infrastructures and human practices that underpin military space operations, developing the concept of terrestrial military space. It focuses on the spatial distribution of ground-based facilities—often located strategically in remote upland environments such as tundra, ice caps, and moorlands—and explores how these geographies are shaped by environmental threats, power supply challenges, and operational vulnerabilities. The analysis considers how emerging terrestrial risks are reshaping the safety and security of ground-based observation and control systems.
Particular attention is given to the environmental fragility of these infrastructures, including the impact of recent moorland fires on Langdale moor, North Yorkshire in the United Kingdom on radar sensor facilities situated in isolated areas with limited fire-prevention resources. The paper also discusses potential future threats to space launch activities at Vandenburgh space force base in California, where wildfire intensity and frequency, as well as deteriorating air quality, are projected to increase due to prolonged hot summers, the effects delay launch and impacts upon human health, exposure to smoke and threat of fire.
Drawing on fieldwork observations and interviews with serving space operators, the paper analyses how growing workloads, organisational pressures, and environmental hazards influence daily working life within this expanding domain. In doing so, it contributes to a broader understanding of the material, ecological, and human dimensions of military space power, situating these within contemporary debates in critical military and security studies.
