Security in Space The Next Generation - UNIDIR

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of new debris. Hence, debris experts expect the orbital debris population to increase steadily as more countries enter the world of space activities. THE THREAT OF SPACE WEAPONS The most serious threats to the continued sustainability of space activities are certain types of anti-satellite weapons, the most destructive of which can leave thousands of additional pieces of debris in orbit. As an example of the threat of debris creation, on 11 January 2007, China intentionally destroyed an aging Chinese weather satellite, Fengyun-1C. That incident added some 2,400 pieces of trackable debris to the deadly mix already in sun-synchronous polar orbit, sharply increasing the long-term danger to working satellites. 3 The satellite was orbiting at an altitude of about 800km and orbital debris at those altitudes takes tens of years to fall back to Earth. In the meantime satellites that we depend on for critical environmental, security and business-related information are at increased risk (notice the increase during 2007 in Chart 1). 4 The United States and the Soviet Union had both tested anti-satellite weapons in the past, but had shut down those programmes for fear of creating more orbital debris. However, on 21 February 2008, the United States shot down an errant US satellite. The offi cial reason given for this action was to prevent it spreading its large load of highly toxic fuel on the Earth’s surface. 5 The United States justifi ed the action on the basis of public safety and the fact that its orbit had declined to a relatively low 270km by time of impact, yet to much of the world, this action looked very much like an anti-satellite test. Space weapons are of concern because many types, especially kinetic energy weapons, can leave huge amounts of debris in orbit. This debris spreads widely throughout its orbit, creating hazards for satellites orbiting nearby. STEPS TOWARD THE SUSTAINABLE USE OF THE SPACE ENVIRONMENT The Secure World Foundation is committed to assisting effective measures to achieve a sustainable space environment. Reaching this goal includes the following steps: 181
182 LIMITING ORBITAL DEBRIS FORMATION Fortunately, even non-experts have come to realize that it is important to keep space debris to the absolute minimum. That is why, after years of study and discussion, the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Use of Outer Space (COPUOS) passed a non-binding resolution in June 2007 formally calling for the reduction of debris generation and the study of means to remove debris from orbit. The UN General Assembly accepted the resolution in October 2007. COPUOS followed closely the recommendations of the Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee (IADC), the group of spacefaring states that had been working on the development of debris mitigation guidelines for well over a decade. Passage of this resolution was an important, perhaps crucial, step in providing long-term governance of our orbital environment. Part of the impetus behind its passage was apparently the 2007 Chinese incident mentioned above, which highlighted the seriousness of the debris problem and shocked many of the COPUOS delegates. However, this non-binding resolution is not enough. For these guidelines to be effective, each state will need to adopt binding national regulations at least as strong as the UN debris guidelines. SPACE SITUATIONAL AWARENESS AND SPACE TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT Larger steps toward space governance are needed. As additional countries and private companies launch spacecraft into orbit, popular orbits like the polar, sun-synchronous and geosynchronous orbits are becoming a lot more crowded and will eventually need an international space traffi c management system to keep these highly useful orbits relatively collision free. As the case of the CloudSat and SINHA-1 satellites reveals, a quasi-space traffi c management regime exists now, mostly controlled by the United States. The US Air Force maintains ground-based optical and radar observatories that keep track of the 18,000 or so working satellites and larger debris—so-called space situational awareness (SSA). Through NASA, it publishes an open catalogue of orbital elements that commercial and non-US satellite operators can use to guide their spacecraft and avoid collisions. However, this open catalogue holds much less information on orbits of working satellites and debris than the full catalogue (information
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THE SIMONS FOUNDATION SECURE WORLD
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About the cover Cover photograph co
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CONTENTS Foreword .................
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FOREWORD Outer space is an essentia
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS UNIDIR would like
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xii on the editorial board of The B
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xiv Victor VASILIEV Victor Vasiliev
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CONFERENCE SUMMARY The conference
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Another threat that we need to addr
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humanitarian workers to reach the e
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The question was raised as to wheth
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For this reasons, TCBMs and a treat
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cases actors should engage in consu
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Following the presentations by the
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Could stated national policies, if
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the contrary. Rules in space became
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effects of space weather, and of co
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2 space activities, it has become c
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4 in Outer Space, the Threat or Use
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SPACE GENERATION ADVISORY COUNCIL A
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The fi rst issue is space debris. S
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avoid confl ict by prohibiting weap
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14 For its devastating power, the d
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16 papers elaborating our views on
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DOWN TO EARTH: A SOLUTION TO A GLOB
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for life on Mars could have a numbe
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Combining their expertise in mass s
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26 Perhaps the most widespread civi
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28 strengthen disaster preparedness
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30 solutions for human security, pe
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32 and other small particles. There
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NEXT GENERATION SPACE SECURITY CHAL
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This is a summary of all objects in
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Table 2. Worldwide space situationa
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was on par with one another at roug
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challenge to the international comm
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Notes 1 This research has been made
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NO HARMFUL INTERFERENCE WITH SPACE
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and the second Strategic Arms Reduc
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as well as terrestrial capabilities
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The Henry L. Stimson Center, in col
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The critics are right to recall tha
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forums. It could be negotiated by a
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precedent for non-interference with
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TRANSPARENCY AND CONFIDENCE-BUILDIN
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IADC’s terms of reference also pr
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actions. As these groups develop co
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TRANSPARENCY AND CONFIDENCE-BUILDIN
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In addition, strict compliance with
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in considering eventual confi dence
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The above-mentioned measures are no
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Notes 1 General Assembly, Special R
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SAFEGUARDING OUTER SPACE: ON THE RO
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mechanisms under permanent review,
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thereby and which may run counter t
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the discretion of that state—henc
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condition of “common agreement”
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Foundation, and Rebecca Johnson, di
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ANNEX Buenos Aires International In
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Refusal to hold consultations, or t
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confi rmation thirty days after the
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States Parties to the Treaty shall
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space law, UN document A/AC.105/C.2
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104 a potential direct threat to ma
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106 SPACE LAW: MANY PRINCIPLES, NO
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108 of government and corporate sta
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110 growth will be badly hurt if th
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112 and samples of residual materia
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114 outer space beyond the geostati
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116 Virgin Galactic had to obtain t
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118 air and space traffi c in the i
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120 aviation and space weather comm
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122 could play a role in lowering o
Page 147 and 148: 124 In other word, space security i
Page 149 and 150: 126 a second meeting of the informa
Page 151 and 152: 128 ANNEX SPACE DEBRIS MITIGATION G
Page 153 and 154: 130 Guideline 1: Limit debris relea
Page 155 and 156: 132 that survives to reach the surf
Page 157 and 158: FROM SPACE DOMINANCE TO EQUITABLE R
Page 159 and 160: The United States has never conduct
Page 161 and 162: space for any purposes that the Uni
Page 163 and 164: provide adequate reassurance that n
Page 165 and 166: SESSION IV TREATIES AND AGREEMENTS:
Page 167 and 168: 146 such weapons, if deployed in ou
Page 169 and 170: 148 DEFINITIONS AND SCOPE OF A PPWT
Page 171 and 172: 150 preamble—aims of a new treaty
Page 173 and 174: RUSSIAN-CHINESE SPACE-WEAPONS-BAN P
Page 175 and 176: this issue would ensure that a trea
Page 177 and 178: outer space is fundamentally import
Page 179 and 180: 160 it is formed, what power it has
Page 181 and 182: 162 ought to be illegal (or, ought
Page 183 and 184: 164 two specifi c ASAT activities:
Page 185 and 186: 166 CIL has always been an importan
Page 187 and 188: 168 neutral space assets, even if t
Page 189 and 190: 170 Despite that fi stful of treati
Page 191 and 192: 172 in combat. Outer space is, of c
Page 193 and 194: SESSION V NEXT GENERATION, NEXT STE
Page 195 and 196: 178 the ability to secure borders,
Page 197: 180 and the Chinese in 2007 have le
Page 201 and 202: 184 nations, an essential ingredien
Page 203 and 204: SPACE SECURITY AND SATELLITE APPLIC
Page 205 and 206: ROLE OF UNOSAT The initial idea of
Page 207 and 208: CANADA’S PERSPECTIVE ON SPACE SEC
Page 209 and 210: The draft treaty on the Prevention
Page 211: ACRONYMS ASAT anti-satellite weapon
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