The ability to restrict or deny freedom of access to and operations in space is no longer limited to global military powers. The reality is that there are many extant capabilities to deny, disrupt or physically destroy space systems and the ground facilities that command and control them. Knowledge of U.S. space systems functions, locations and physical characteristics, as well as the means to conduct counterspace operations, is increasingly available on the international market. Nations or groups hostile to the U.S. possess or can acquire the means to disrupt or destroy U.S. space systems by attacking the satellites in space, their communications nodes on the ground and in space, or ground nodes that command the satellites. Offensive counterspace operation technology is spreading throughout the world. Even so, some types of antisatellite (ASAT) weapons are obviously more complex to design, build and test than others. Kinetic and chemical interceptors, conventional guns, and low power lasers are the least sophisticated. Nuclear weapons and radio frequency weapons are more complex. High-energy lasers and particle beam weapons are the most sophisticated. Note that this rating should not be considered by itself, as the use of a complex weapon could make other aspects of the overall system simpler. For example, using a nuclear weapon on an interceptor makes virtually every other aspect of system development less complicated since its lethal radius is large.

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Wilson, Tom. Threats to United States Space Capabilities. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Space Commission, 2001. [ 8 quotes ]