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Gonna be a lot of things happening in space, because space is the world's newest
Gonna be a lot of things happening in space, because space is the world's newest
war-fighting domain.
war-fighting domain.
D. Trump, 2019
D. Trump, 2019
Weaponisation of space is not a new concept, as is evidenced by the history of successful demonstrations of destructive anti-satellite (ASAT) capabilities, already accomplished by Russia (1963), the USA (1985), China (2007) and India (2019). The new developments relate to the advancement in counterspace technology, and to the global political approach to outer space, which is becoming more important for both military and civilian purposes. It has been noted that in the last few years, an increasing number of states have been turning their attention towards counterspace capabilities.
The year 2019 was dappled with unsettling events, which ultimately led to outer space becoming humanity's new arena for waging war. The year commenced with India's audacious anti-satellite test, establishing it as a new "space power" and marking its success with a fresh trail of space debris. In the following months the French President, Emanuel Macron, asserted the need for defensive, as well as offensive, counterspace capabilities and the establishment of a space high command, while NATO made outer space into an "operational domain". The culmination point came with President Donald Trump’s ostentatious declaration: "space is the world’s newest war-fighting domain", and his affirmation for the need for US "superiority in space".
Currently the USA is the only nation to have established a standalone space oriented military branch, the so-called "Space Force", although various others have reorganised their militaries to account for space warfare.
The rhetoric of 'deterrence', 'space control', 'power' or 'dominance' adapted by certain nations, as a model for conduct in space, is not only diplomatically unhelpful, but extremely dangerous, and cannot be ignored. Adopting this stance would greatly impede international cooperation in the domain of outer space, as more states will feel the need to follow the same path of militarisation, leading, among other outcomes, to a spike in global tensions. This process can be readily observed in the most recent ASAT test carried out by India, summarised by India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, "[w]ith this, India has entered its name as an elite space power" and "A-SAT missiles will give new strength to India's space programme."
The arms race in space is escalating demonstrably. There is a notable lack of legal frameworks which could be used to reign in the weaponisation of space, and to address aggressive behaviours enacted in space, or against space assets. This, as well as the overall tone of the negotiations already undertaken at the United Nations, is indicative of the possibility that many of the expected threats have grown significantly more probable.
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