The Militarization of Outer SpaceSpace Peace Treaties |
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Will space be turned into a war zone despite the landmark Outer Space Treaty of 1967 that sets aside outer space “for peaceful purposes.” The Outer Space Treaty was put together by the US, Great Britain and the former Soviet Union and has wide support from nations around the world. As Craig Eisendrath, who was involved in the treaty’s creation, says, “we sought to de-weaponize space before it got weaponized…to keep war out of space.”
Paul Meyer, who served as permanent Representative to the UN Conference on Disarmament adds, “This foundational treaty has allowed for half a century of ever expanding peaceful activity in space, free from manmade threats.” This Outer Space Treaty bars placement “in orbit around the Earth any objects carrying nuclear weapons or any other kinds of weapons of mass destruction or from installing such weapons on celestial bodies.”
Meanwhile, international diplomats have worked for decades to extend the Outer Space Treaty and enact the Prevention of an Arms Race, (PAROS) treaty, which would bar any weapons in space. China, Russia and Canada have taken the lead in passing the PAROS treaty. Although the PAROS treaty has broad backing from nations around the world, it must move through the UN’s Conference on Disarmament, which functions on a consensual basis. Unfortunately, the US—through administration
after administration, Republican and Democrat—has opposed the PAROS treaty and effectively vetoed it at the United Nations.
“We are calling on the international community to start negotiations and reach agreement on arms control in order to ensure space safety as soon as possible,” said the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Zhao Lijian, in April 2021; “China has always been in favor of preventing an arms race in space; it has been actively promoting negotiations on a legally binding
agreement on space arms control jointly with Russia.”
A day earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Serge Lavrov said: “We consistently believe that only a guaranteed prevention of an arms race in space will make it possible to use it for creative purposes, for the benefit of the entire mankind. We call for negotiations on the development of an international legally binding instrument that would prohibit the deployment of any types of weapons there, as well as the use of force or the threat of force.”
In September 2021, the BRICS countries—Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa—declared their “commitment” against weaponization of space as they held what was described as a BRICS “summit” meeting in New Delhi. They issued a statement declaring: “We confirm the commitment to ensure prevention of an arms race in outer space and its weaponization, and
the long-term sustainability of outer space activities, including through the adoption of a relevant multilateral legally binding instrument. In this regard, we note the draft Treaty on the Prevention of the Placement of Weapons in Outer Space, the Threat or Use of Force against Outer Space Objects.”
Indeed, there must be a return to the vision of the Outer Space Treaty of 1967, and it being expanded to prohibit any weapons in space, and an undoing of the formation of the US Space Force—and a full commitment to keeping space for peace.
Paul Meyer, who served as permanent Representative to the UN Conference on Disarmament adds, “This foundational treaty has allowed for half a century of ever expanding peaceful activity in space, free from manmade threats.” This Outer Space Treaty bars placement “in orbit around the Earth any objects carrying nuclear weapons or any other kinds of weapons of mass destruction or from installing such weapons on celestial bodies.”
Meanwhile, international diplomats have worked for decades to extend the Outer Space Treaty and enact the Prevention of an Arms Race, (PAROS) treaty, which would bar any weapons in space. China, Russia and Canada have taken the lead in passing the PAROS treaty. Although the PAROS treaty has broad backing from nations around the world, it must move through the UN’s Conference on Disarmament, which functions on a consensual basis. Unfortunately, the US—through administration
after administration, Republican and Democrat—has opposed the PAROS treaty and effectively vetoed it at the United Nations.
“We are calling on the international community to start negotiations and reach agreement on arms control in order to ensure space safety as soon as possible,” said the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Zhao Lijian, in April 2021; “China has always been in favor of preventing an arms race in space; it has been actively promoting negotiations on a legally binding
agreement on space arms control jointly with Russia.”
A day earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Serge Lavrov said: “We consistently believe that only a guaranteed prevention of an arms race in space will make it possible to use it for creative purposes, for the benefit of the entire mankind. We call for negotiations on the development of an international legally binding instrument that would prohibit the deployment of any types of weapons there, as well as the use of force or the threat of force.”
In September 2021, the BRICS countries—Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa—declared their “commitment” against weaponization of space as they held what was described as a BRICS “summit” meeting in New Delhi. They issued a statement declaring: “We confirm the commitment to ensure prevention of an arms race in outer space and its weaponization, and
the long-term sustainability of outer space activities, including through the adoption of a relevant multilateral legally binding instrument. In this regard, we note the draft Treaty on the Prevention of the Placement of Weapons in Outer Space, the Threat or Use of Force against Outer Space Objects.”
Indeed, there must be a return to the vision of the Outer Space Treaty of 1967, and it being expanded to prohibit any weapons in space, and an undoing of the formation of the US Space Force—and a full commitment to keeping space for peace.
The United States Space Force
The Donald Trump-initiated US Space Force and its activities puts the world at a crossroads. In 2018 President Trump declared at a meeting of the National Space Council that “it is not enough to merely have an American presence in space, we must have American dominance in space . . . I’m hereby directing the Department of Defense and Pentagon to immediately begin the process necessary to establish a Space Force as the sixth branch of the armed forces…It is going to be something.” Trump’s US Space Force is something, and can — if not will — destroy the visionary Outer Space Treaty of keeping space for peace.
In 2021 Defense News reported, “US President Joe Biden will not seek to eliminate the Space Force and roll military space functions back into the Air Force . . . White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters during a February 3 briefing that the new service has the ‘full support’ of the Biden administration. And it went on: “‘We’re not revisiting the decision,’ she said.” In 2018, most Democrats and all the Republicans in Congress voted for the legislation forming the US Space Force.
The US Space Force “received its first offensive weapon… satellite jammers,” reported American Military News in 2020. “The weapon does not destroy enemy satellites, but can be used to interrupt enemy satellite communications and hinder enemy early warning systems meant to detect a US attack,” it stated. Soon afterwards, the Financial Times’ headlined: “US military officials eye new generation of space weapons.”
In 2001, the headline on the c4isrnet.com website, which describes itself as, “Media for the Intelligence Age Military,” declared: “The Space Force wants to use directed-energy systems for space superiority.
Meanwhile, the US Space Force drives ahead. It has requested a budget of $17.4 billion for 2022 to “grow the service,” reports Air Force Magazine. “Space Force 2022 Budget Adds Satellites, Warfighting Center, More Guardians,” was the headline of its article. And in the first paragraph, it adds “and fund more than $800 million in new classified programs.” One after another, US Air Force bases are being renamed US Space Force bases. “Guardians” is the name adopted by the US Space Force in 2021 for its members.
Karl Grossman is an award-winning investigative reporter and a full professor of journalism at the State University of New York/College at Old Westbury. He is the author of The Wrong Stuff and Weapons in Space and wrote and narrated the TV documentary "Nukes In Space: The Nuclearization and Weaponization of the Heavens." His website is www.karlgrossman.com and he can be reached at [email protected].
In 2021 Defense News reported, “US President Joe Biden will not seek to eliminate the Space Force and roll military space functions back into the Air Force . . . White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters during a February 3 briefing that the new service has the ‘full support’ of the Biden administration. And it went on: “‘We’re not revisiting the decision,’ she said.” In 2018, most Democrats and all the Republicans in Congress voted for the legislation forming the US Space Force.
The US Space Force “received its first offensive weapon… satellite jammers,” reported American Military News in 2020. “The weapon does not destroy enemy satellites, but can be used to interrupt enemy satellite communications and hinder enemy early warning systems meant to detect a US attack,” it stated. Soon afterwards, the Financial Times’ headlined: “US military officials eye new generation of space weapons.”
In 2001, the headline on the c4isrnet.com website, which describes itself as, “Media for the Intelligence Age Military,” declared: “The Space Force wants to use directed-energy systems for space superiority.
Meanwhile, the US Space Force drives ahead. It has requested a budget of $17.4 billion for 2022 to “grow the service,” reports Air Force Magazine. “Space Force 2022 Budget Adds Satellites, Warfighting Center, More Guardians,” was the headline of its article. And in the first paragraph, it adds “and fund more than $800 million in new classified programs.” One after another, US Air Force bases are being renamed US Space Force bases. “Guardians” is the name adopted by the US Space Force in 2021 for its members.
Karl Grossman is an award-winning investigative reporter and a full professor of journalism at the State University of New York/College at Old Westbury. He is the author of The Wrong Stuff and Weapons in Space and wrote and narrated the TV documentary "Nukes In Space: The Nuclearization and Weaponization of the Heavens." His website is www.karlgrossman.com and he can be reached at [email protected].
