Avoidance of a space arms race

RELATED NEWS: SWF Washington Office Director Victoria Samson and Samuel Black of The Stimson Center have co-authored a brief analysis of national security space programs proposed in the FY 2011 defense budget. Download the document here.

Sustainable Space Security

The Secure World Foundation is dedicated to a vision of preventing war among human societies, and is focused on space in particular as it strives to make its vision a reality. Why space? Because it is virgin territory; that is, weapons are not in space and wars have not been fought in space. The Foundation wants to make sure this condition remains unchanged by countering the view that weapons and war in space are inevitable, that institutionalized violence is a natural byproduct of the human condition.

By focusing on preventing weapons from being deployed in space, and by extension preventing war in space, the Foundation hopes that the international cooperative arrangements designed to this end translate to diplomatic efforts to promote peaceful coexistence and prevention of war on Earth. The Foundation and its partners aim to build upon existing legal instruments prohibiting the deployment of weapons in space and decades of policy analyses on the subject. Photo credit: Popular Science. 

Two treaties provide the bedrock for the prevention of space weapons deployment. The 1963 Treaty Banning Nuclear Weapon Tests in the Atmosphere, in Outer Space and Under Water, often abbreviated as the Partial Test Ban Treaty (PTBT) or Limited Test Ban Treaty (LTBT) prohibits the detonation of nuclear weapons and test devices in space.

Article IV of the 1967 Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, commonly known as the Outer Space Treaty (OST), points out that “States Parties to the Treaty undertake not to place in orbit around the Earth any objects carrying nuclear weapons or any other kinds of weapons of mass destruction, install such weapons on celestial bodies, or station such weapons in outer space in any other manner. The Moon and other celestial bodies shall be used by all States Parties to the Treaty exclusively for peaceful purposes. The establishment of military bases, installations and fortifications, the testing of any type of weapons and the conduct of military maneuvers on celestial bodies shall be forbidden.”

The Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty (or ABM Treaty), which was in force from 1972 to 2002 between the United States and Soviet Union/Russia, also prohibited the development, testing, or deployment of space-based systems designed to destroy intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) during cruise phase. On December 13, 2001, the United States sent notice to Russia of its intention to withdrawal from the treaty, in accordance with the clause requiring a six month notice before withdrawing from the treaty. The United States terminated its association with the pact because of its desire to pursue various ABM technologies designed to thwart missile attacks from rogue nations. Shortly after withdrawal the United States established the Missile Defense Agency (MDA), a Department of Defense (DoD) agency. Photo credit: U.S. Navy.

While the two remaining treaties prohibiting deployment of space weapons provide a legal framework for preventing a space arms race, they are generally considered not enough. Further instruments are needed to address anti-satellite (ASAT) weapons (such as a system like the Aegis launch of an SM-3 in the photo at left), co-orbital satellites, space bombers, particle weapons, interpretations of UN Charter Article 51, alarming trends in foreign policy and perceived loopholes in the OST. Examples of additional instruments need to counter the potential for a space arms race include a treaty banning ASAT testing and deployment, a treaty banning space weapons generally, a space code of conduct and transparency and confidence-building measures (TCBMs).

What is the Secure World Foundation doing about space weapons?

The Foundation is working closely with a variety of partners and international organizations in an effort to prevent a space arms race.

On the diplomatic front, the Secure World Foundation works very closely with the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNCOPUOS) on issues related to space weapons and other matters, and is currently working with the Conference of Non-Governmental Organizations in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations (CONGO) to establish a Committee on Space Security. The Foundation is also working with the UN Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR) to reenergize the UN Conference on Disarmament (CD), which has been in relative stasis since 1998. These various UN bodies serve as essential springboards in a multi faceted strategy to prevent the deployment and use of weapons in space.

The Henry L. Stimson Center, a non-partisan, non-governmental organization that works on international security issues and is a key partner of the Secure World Foundation, is working on a space code of conduct. The proposed code, written by Stimson Center co-founder Michael Krepon, consists of five “Rights of Space-Faring States” and nine “Responsibilities of Space-Faring States.” This code can help establish a foundation from which to build rules and treaties focused on preventing a space arms race.

The Foundation is working with the World Security Institute (WSI) on a China-U.S. Dialogue Project, which fosters dialogue between the two potential economic, political and military competitors in outer space.  We are also working closely with the Center for Defense Information (CDI) in an effort to reach out to the military, civil and commercial space sectors as well as the public, providing briefings, white papers and other media on space security, space policy and space weapons.

In addition, the Foundation supports the Space Security Index (SSI), a research partnership between the Institute of Air and Space Law at McGill University, Project Ploughshares, the Simons Centre for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Research at the University of British Columbia, the Space Generation Foundation, the International Security Research and Outreach Programme of the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada. Among other things, the SSI provides detailed annual analysis of space security and trends in military uses of space.

The Foundation also works with the European Space Policy Institute (ESPI) on the Securing a Fair Use of Outer Space Project to investigate how a fair and sustainable utilization of outer space for all actors can be achieved. This work helps gain further understanding on possible international cooperative arrangements designed to diminish the chances of misunderstandings that can lead to conflicts and war.

Be sure to visit the links above to learn more about space weapons in International Space Policy Documents, Reports, Fact Sheets, Links, and Papers and Articles.