A new space race is on. Symbolized by the historic landing of China’s robotic explorer on the far side of the Moon, the goal this time is to create a permanent human presence on the Moon and beyond.
Looking ahead: Trends shaping space security in 2019
The world has entered a Second Space Age, marked by an intensification of our interactions and reach into outer space. A core part of the international Space Security Index project, managed by Project Ploughshares, is to look holistically at how states, companies, and people around the world access and make use of this domain. Looking to the year ahead, five …
It’s back: Space-based missile defence
Like boomerangs, some bad ideas keep coming back. Space-based missile defence has been pursued intermittently by the United States since the launch of the Space Age. Now, under Donald Trump, America is once again dreaming that it can protect itself from nuclear-armed missiles by deploying a “shield” of interceptors in outer space. Closely resembling President Reagan’s derided “Star Wars,” this …
Why the chances of conflict in outer space are going up
U.S. President Trump’s desire to create a Space Force—a new military branch focused solely on outer space operations—has drawn public attention to the prospects of warfare in a domain that has been used only for peaceful and passive purposes. Despite the provocative name, the proposed mission would in many ways be mundane: the command and control of spacecraft rather than …
We are ready for 2019
As 2018 ends, you may feel disheartened by the state of global security. Multiple, overlapping crises—some brewing, others already manifest—seem to outpace the international community’s capacity to respond effectively. Published in The Ploughshares Monitor Volume 39 Issue 4 Winter 2018 by Cesar Jaramillo The world is in the midst of the worst refugee crisis in history. According to figures from the UN …
A call for leadership: New report details security concerns in outer space
November 6, 2018 Key findings of a new report point to deteriorating security conditions in outer space in the absence of renewed governance efforts. Space Security Index 2018 tracks developments under 18 indicators related to four aspects of the security of outer space: environmental sustainability, access to and use of space, technologies for space security, and space governance. Project manager …
An arms race in outer space? New report raises alarm
November 6, 2018 A new report on the security of outer space warns that an arms race is looming if we do not constrain conflict and the use of force in outer space. Space Security Index 2018 tracks developments and activities in 2017 related to four indicators of the security of outer space – environmental sustainability, access to and use …
The Right to Peace: Space Security
The theme for the 2018 International Day of Peace (Friday, Sept. 21) is The Right to Peace – The Universal Declaration of Human Rights at 70. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in Paris on Dec. 10, 1948, to recognize “the inherent dignity and equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human race.” …
Outer space: Crowded, congested, and contested
Over the past two decades, outer space has seen significant changes. To use the most clichéd phrase, space has become even more crowded, congested, and contested. But like many clichés, it is also true. Published in The Ploughshares Monitor Volume 39 Issue 3 Autumn 2018 by Dr. Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan New players A domain that was once dominated by the two Cold …
Uncharted territory in outer space
For most of us, outer space is not a topic of regular conversation. It seems to be physically removed from our everyday experiences, a distant place that we imagine to be cold and barren or the stuff of fantastic fiction. Published in The Ploughshares Monitor Volume 39 Issue 2 Summer 2018 by Jessica West This distance is an illusion. We on Earth …