France has started its first military exercises in space to check its ability to protect and defend its satellites.
Michael Friedling, the head of France’s newly created Space Command, called the exercise a “stress test of our systems” and said they were a first for the French army and even a first in Europe.”
This drill is codenamed “AsterX”, in a tribute to the first French 1965 satellite Asterix. The drill will simulate the monitoring of a potentially dangerous space object, as well as a threat to a satellite.
The new US Space Force and German space agencies are taking part in the French exercises, which began on Monday and will continue till Friday.
