Three's a party: US, China, and now Russia are on the prowl in GEO

The competition among the world's leading space powers—namely the US, China, and Russia—intensifies in geosynchronous orbit (GEO) as each nation seeks to monitor the activities of the others. The US military has long utilized 'inspector' satellites for reconnaissance, while China has been launching similar satellites since 2018. Recently, Russia has entered the scene with its own suspected inspector satellite, prompting the US Space Force to consider expanding its fleet of reconnaissance satellites in GEO.