In March 2021, France launched its first military exercise in space to evaluate its ability to defend its satellites and other defense equipment from an attack.
- The exercise, codenamed “AsterX” in memory of the first French satellite from 1965, will be based on 18 simulated events in an operations room.
- During the drill, the French military will monitor a potentially dangerous space object as well as a threat to its own satellite from another foreign power possessing a considerable space force.
- The new US Space Force and German space agencies are taking part in the French exercises which began on March 8, 2021.
