Veteran Space Operator Alleges Secret Control System Undermines Space Command and is Possibly Connected to UAP
Written by Christopher Sharp - 2 October 2025
Veteran operator Jim Shell alleges a concealed ‘security control system’ is supplanting Space Force/Space Command authority.
With high confidence, Shell cites interference with Space Domain Awareness, potential risk to USNORTHCOM, suppression of Russian/Chinese on-orbit intel, and unpublished rules that have punished Guardians.
He traces the issue to a 2018 classification policy co-signed by NRO and USSTRATCOM; USSPACECOM adopted it on re-establishment in 2019, and the unpublished rules are understood to predate 2018.
Reform efforts allegedly failed: a 27 May 2021 clash, a second attempt in 2022, a single briefing forced through by Gen. B. Chance Saltzman, and a later probe hampered by access limits.
With medium confidence, Shell points to possible fund misappropriation and a UAP link - and warns of possible ‘Golden Dome’ sensor interference.
A veteran U.S. space operator has publicly alleged that a concealed ‘security control system’ within America’s national-security space enterprise is undermining commanders, obstructing routine tracking of objects in orbit, and, in some cases, diverting data away from the very commands responsible for defending the nation.
In a LinkedIn statement on 29 September 2025, Jim Shell alleged that a secret system has supplanted the ‘direction and authority’ of the U.S. Space Force and U.S. Space Command. Shell is a former ‘Chief Scientist’ by duty title at the Space Innovation and Development Center under Air Force Space Command.
In his statement, Shell states he has high confidence that the system is:
Supplanting the authority of Space Force and Space Command
Causing unauthorised interference with the Space Domain Awareness (SDA) mission - the global effort to detect, track and characterise satellites, debris, and other orbital objects
Demonstrating the potential to interfere with U.S. Northern Command’s ability to protect the homeland
Suppressing intelligence about Russian and Chinese on-orbit activities
Enforcing unpublished security rules that have led to Guardians - service members with the Space Force - being removed, threatened with court martial, and branded ‘problematic,’ while their commanders were never told the basis for the charges.
He adds that he has medium confidence in two further claims: that funds have been misappropriated, and that the system connects to Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) activity - this raises the possibility that anomalous orbital detections are removed from the standard catalogue before they reach operational commanders.
Shell links today’s problems to a 2018 classification policy; however, Liberation Times understands the system’s unpublished rules predate 2018.
The 2018 policy was co-signed by the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) - which runs America’s spy satellites - and U.S. Strategic Command, which oversaw space operations before the creation of the U.S. Space Force and Space Command in 2019.
When the U.S. Space Command was re-established in 2019, following its inactivation in 2002, it adopted the policy, according to Shell.
Shell argues neither NRO nor U.S. Strategic Command had proper authority to impose such sweeping changes, yet the unpublished rules stemming from that policy continue to be enforced.
Alarmingly, according to Shell, attempts by senior officials to change the policy have repeatedly failed.
He points to an alleged confrontation on 27 May 2021, when the Vice Chief of Space Operations sought to push through changes but was blocked. Based on the date and role, this likely refers to General David Thompson, who held that post at the time.
Shell implies that a three-star general who allegedly blocked the effort later missed out on promotion to four-star, writing, ‘it’s a small consolation that a 3 star general’s involvement was largely responsible for them not earning a 4th star.’
In his statement, Shell asserts the Vice Chief - understood to be General David Thompson - made another attempt in 2022, but was again unsuccessful.
That same year, Shell claims the current Chief of Space Operations, General Bradley Chance Saltzman - then serving as Deputy Chief of Space Operations - successfully forced through a single briefing to Space Command about potential risks to U.S. Northern Command.
According to Shell, a former Vice Chief of Space Operations, who Liberation Times understands is General Michael Anthony Guetlein, would later sponsor an internal investigation. But Shell alleges the colonel assigned to lead it was not cleared into the ‘foundational layer’ necessary to even understand the issue, ensuring the probe could not reach independent conclusions.
Of note, General Guetlein is the former Deputy Director and Space Force Element Commander for the NRO. The NRO’s Space Force Element is described as supporting the design, development, launch, and maintenance of America’s intelligence satellites.
Shell contends the fallout has been far wider than officials in Washington D.C. realise. These are the implications he cites:
For American taxpayers: programs are failing to deliver advertised capabilities while budgets expand
For allies: foreign partners contribute data that U.S. operators cannot reference without risking violations, even when that information is publicly observable
For U.S. diplomats: officials representing America abroad have been left unaware of orbital incidents that the global community can see. Shell says this includes apparent violations of norms and even treaties. He adds that information has been blocked internally, even when it is already known to potential adversaries
For military culture: the system fosters dysfunction by punishing Guardians and branding reformers as problematic
For Golden Dome: Shell warns that evidence suggests likely interference with the sensing layer critical to a missile-defence shield proposed under President Trump, known as the ‘Golden Dome.’ Notably, General Michael Anthony Guetlein, who may be very aware of the problem, currently serves as the program’s director.
Shell says he tried to raise the issue through formal channels.
He stated that in 2022, he submitted an unclassified paper to an Inspector General’s office.
In November 2024, Shell says that he sat for a four-hour classified interview covering multiple Special Access Programs (SAPs) and Controlled Access Programs (CAPs), and even assembled cleared witnesses willing to testify.
After eight months, he writes, none had been contacted - an outcome he claims he predicted.
If substantiated, the claims raise stark questions about whether America’s ability to maintain awareness in orbit - the foundation of its space superiority - has been compromised by a secretive mechanism of its own making.
As Shell puts it, the Space Force Chief of Space Operations’ top priority - avoiding operational surprise - is at significant risk, yet Space Force and Space Command lack the power to change it.
Shell’s suspicion that the secrecy may relate to UAP - with medium confidence - is significant.
The Pentagon’s All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) defines UAP as observations across one or more domains - including spaceborne and transmedium - that are not yet attributable to known actors and exhibit behaviours not readily understood by sensors or observers.
Of note, in April 2023, General John Olson, then serving as the Mobilization Assistant to the Chief of Space Operations, stated that UAP are detected globally and urged greater collaboration and cooperation.
Olson stated:
“They’ve occurred globally, and I think we’re collecting that information.
“We’re sharing information.
“We view that as an open and transparent effort and activity through the United States Congress and executed by our UAP Task Force office, and so I would encourage greater collaboration and cooperation in that, and particularly I think as we see various technologies that will help demystify or debunk or clarify.”
As of publication, the Department of War, the U.S. Space Force, U.S. Space Command, nor the NRO have responded publicly to Shell’s allegations.
