>>16496657
This is actually quite an interesting concept for gameplay, if you think about it ala Orcs Must Die.
Satellites are control points you must keep secure from either failure condition, with the enemy changing tactics depending on how you deal with them. If you keep alternating between satellites really fast or leave static defenses near them they will try to disable them, but if you take too long or a location is undefended, they'll try to drag the whole thing back to their base slowly.
This creates an extra "health bar" for the satellites that is their distance to the pirate's base, but it's a "health bar" that only takes damage if you leave it undefended, which is risky. Properly prioritizing and planning which satellites to protect and which to leave as bait would be core to the gameplay.
What's more, satellites can belong to specific nations or corporations, giving you advantages or bonuses for keeping them active or specific penalties for letting them go. You can even have a small simulation on the ground that can change the conditions in space based on that. Russian satellite disappears? They might retaliate by trying to shoot the American ones.
Satellites can also be introduced mid-game giving you more advantages to use, but also more points to defend.
>>16497061
The Moon Cult is also a neat twist. In order to break down the predictable behaviour of the chinese robots, every now and then a strike force from them comes from Earth, meaning you'll have to fight on 2 fronts for that round and prevent them from reaching the other side, possibly with different vessels trying to breach your defenses and even nukes flying at high speed as priority targets.