Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been tagged as “Outer Space Treaty”
The history of arms control in outer space reads like a success story. Outer space is one of the few domains of human activity in which the focus has been on prevention. Although military satellites that provide communications, remote sensing, navigation, and timing services once dominated space and continue to provide essential military services, their operations have long been considered peaceful. Those of us working in space security say that space is “militarized but not weaponized.”
Outer space now provides vast social, scientific, and economic benefits to humanity, but the continued enjoyment of these benefits is anything but guaranteed. As the number of space users and applications has increased, so too have the threats to its long-term sustainability.
Ploughshares program officer Jessica West was among the speakers who addressed outer space security at the UN First Committee meetings in October. She focused on trends in outer space governance and how they relate to the key tenets of the Outer Space Treaty. Published in The Ploughshares Monitor Volume 38 Issue 4 Winter 2017 Responding to new and old challenges As West …
Chair, today is an auspicious day to address this Committee on the security of outer space. On this very date, October 10th, the Outer Space Treaty—the bedrock of international space law—entered into force exactly 50 years ago. Outer space now provides vast social, scientific, and economic benefits to humanity. But the sustainability of this critical domain also faces critical challenges. …
The annual assessment of the security of outer space released at the United Nations last week warns of mounting stress from a combination of rapid technology change and geopolitical tensions. Space Security Index 2017 tracks developments and activities related to four indicators of the security of outer space – environmental sustainability, access to and use of space, technologies for space …
Chair, Today is an auspicious day to address this Committee on the security of outer space. On this very date, October 10th, the Outer Space Treaty—the bedrock of international space law—entered into force exactly 50 years ago. Outer space now provides vast social, scientific and economic benefits to humanity. But the sustainability of this critical domain also faces critical challenges. …
For a small but increasing number of states, space services provide the capability to deploy military personnel globally and apply force more efficiently and effectively. Increasingly, these states view space as a sphere to be dominated and defended. Space is not insulated from conflict on Earth, and it can unpredictably escalate crises on the ground or be the spark that …
Join us for a conversation about the future of outer space governance as the Outer Space Treaty faces the next generation of challenges. Presented by the Space Security Index. When: 5:30 p.m. – 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 3, 2017 Where: Best Western Ville-Marie, Mont Royal I (20th floor) 3407 Rue Peel, Montreal Featuring: David Kendall Chair of UN COPUOS (Canada) Ambassador (Ret’d) …
January 27, 2017 marked the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Outer Space Treaty (OST), one of the most successful international treaties ever concluded. Negotiated in an era of intense military competition sparked by the launch of Sputnik in 1957, the Treaty created a legal framework for the governance of outer space, based on the principle that space is …
The many challenges facing the outer space domain can be generally grouped into two broad categories. On the one hand, there are those related to the risks that result from normal peaceful space operations, such us unintentional interference with space assets. On the other, there are clear risks associated with a potential arms race in outer space. While there is …
