WASHINGTON — In a new sign of concern over China and Russia’s space activities, two senators unveiled bipartisan legislation June 5 to deepen military space cooperation between the U.S. and its Indo-Pacific allies.
Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, and Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), who sits on the Armed Services Committee, introduced the Quad Space Act, a bill aimed at strengthening strategic coordination in space among the United States, Australia, India, and Japan — the four nations of the informal Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, or “Quad.”
“As China and Russia rapidly develop dangerous space capabilities and behave recklessly in space,” Bennet said in a statement, “the United States must bolster cooperation with our Quad partners to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific.”
The Quad Space Act would direct the Secretary of Defense to begin talks with the other Quad governments to identify shared security priorities in space — ranging from space situational awareness to industrial policy — and to report back to Congress with a roadmap for deeper coordination.
Though the bill does not allocate funding or authorize new programs, its backers hope to attach it as an item of special interest in the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act.
Cramer framed the legislation as a strategic counterweight to growing adversarial threats: “Maintaining space dominance is vital to protecting the stability and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific region. The Quad Space Act protects our interests by deepening space cooperation with trusted partners.”
The Quad’s expanding orbit
The Quad — originally formed as a disaster-response partnership in the aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami — has evolved over the past two decades into a cornerstone of U.S. strategy in the Indo-Pacific. Revived under the Trump administration in 2017 and elevated to the leaders’ level by the Biden administration, the Quad now spans a wide range of policy areas, including public health, climate resilience, critical technologies, and maritime security.
Space cooperation entered the Quad’s agenda in 2021, when the group agreed to share satellite data to improve climate monitoring and disaster preparedness. The new legislation aims to elevate those largely civil and commercial initiatives into a more explicit military and strategic framework.
U.S. officials have warned of China’s development of direct-ascent anti-satellite missiles and co-orbital systems that could be used to disable or destroy satellites. Russia, too, has drawn alarm from recent tests and a potential nuclear space weapon that U.S. intelligence believes it may be pursuing. The Space Force and U.S. Space Command have called for more resilient architectures and closer coordination with allies.
