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UNIDIR/2005/20

Safeguarding Space for All:Security and Peaceful Uses

Conference Report2526 March 2004

UNIDIRUnited Nations Institute for Disarmament Research

Geneva, Switzerland

NOTE

The designations employed and the presentation of thematerial in this publication do not imply the expression of anyopinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of theUnited Nations concerning the legal status of any country,territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning thedelimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

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The views expressed in this publication are the soleresponsibility of the individual authors. They do notnecessarily reflect the views or opinions of the UnitedNations, UNIDIR, its staff members or sponsors.

Copyright United Nations, 2005All rights reserved

UNIDIR/2005/20

UNITED NATIONS PUBLICATION

Sales No. GV.E.05.0.20

ISBN 92-9045-174-2

The United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR)anintergovernmental organization within the United Nationsconductsresearch on disarmament and security. UNIDIR is based in Geneva,Switzerland, the centre for bilateral and multilateral disarmament and non-proliferation negotiations, and home of the Conference on Disarmament.The Institute explores current issues pertaining to the variety of existing andfuture armaments, as well as global diplomacy and local entrenchedtensions and conflicts. Working with researchers, diplomats, Governmentofficials, NGOs and other institutions since 1980, UNIDIR acts as a bridgebetween the research community and Governments. UNIDIRs activitiesare funded by contributions from Governments and donors foundations.The Institutes web site can be found at URL:

http://www.unidir.org

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CONTENTS

Page

Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ixAcknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiAbout the authors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiiiAcronyms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xvii

Chapter 1Conference Report. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Executive summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1Space security. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2Peaceful uses of outer space . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4Means to guarantee space security and assurance . . . . . . . . . . . 6International legal approaches and

the role of the Conference on Disarmament . . . . . . . . . . . . 9Transparency and confidence building . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11Synthesis and discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14Conclusion and next steps. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Chapter 2Space Weapons in the 2005 US Defence Budget RequestJeffrey Lewis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21Force projection and space-based ABM systems . . . . . . . . . . . . 24Space control and autonomous proximity operations . . . . . . . . 26Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

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Chapter 3The current legal regime governing the use of outer spaceJonathan Dean . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Legal and treaty aspects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36The norm of peaceful use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39Expansion of the legal regime . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41Annex: Background paper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Chapter 4Space assurance or space weaponsMichael Krepon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Chapter 5Space debris: next stepsTheresa Hitchens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Chapter 6Risk reduction and monitoring in outer spaceJrgen Scheffran. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Risks and risk-reduction for space objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69Arms control measures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71Monitoring and verification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72Further reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

Chapter 7Space and security: existing international legal frameworkLucy Stojak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

Multilateral legal dimension . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77Bilateral arms control agreements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79Institutional framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81Future steps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

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Chapter 8The law and the military use of outer spaceThomas Graham . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

Chapter 9Restraint regimes for space: a United States perspectiveJames Clay Moltz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

Space history revisited. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97Bush Administration space policy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98Other perspectives in the United States:

Congress and the military. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99Possible routes for the Conference on Disarmament . . . . . . . . . 101Conclusion: gradual engagement of the United States . . . . . . . . 102

Chapter 10Incentives for space security: technology, transparency and complianceGtz Neuneck and Andr Rothkirch. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

The technology of space weapons. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106Nuclear explosions in orbit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107Directed energy weapons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107Kinetic energy weapons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108

Vulnerability of civilian satellites and infrastructures. . . . . . . . . . 110Space debris . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110Active and passive measures to improve space security . . . . . . . 112Strengthening existing arms control treaties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113Proposals for banning space weapons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114

Recent UNIDIR Publications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119

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PREFACE

As the peaceful uses of outer space grow in both number and scope,so too does their importance in the day-to-day lives of people across theglobe. The use of space-based technologies is no longer the exclusiveprovince of states with domestic space programmes; indeed, thewidespread dissemination of information and enhanced communicationsenabled by these technologies have been instrumental in creating theglobal village. In light of this, it is not surprising that a growing number ofgovernmentsincluding key space-faring powershave signalled that thesecurity of space is of serious concern. Developments in technology thatcould be used to weaponize space and the growing problem of spacedebris, for example, are threatening the current secure environment inspace. Growing insecurity of the space environment could not onlydestabilize international relations, but could also severely threaten space-based assets that have become increasingly vital for a wide range of essentialhuman activities worldwide.

Since 1990, the UN General Assembly has adopted a number ofresolutions reaffirming the importance and urgency of preventing an armsrace in outer space. The political will among states to take action on thisvital issue appears to be growing, but there is a need for action to ensurethat space remains safe for peaceful human activity. Concerns of creepingweaponizationa scenario in which states, in some cases without anywell-reasoned basis for doing so, move toward an arms race in outerspaceseem more and more credible. The window of opportunity to actmight not remain open for long.

It was in view of this imperative that a conference on security and thepeaceful uses of outer space was convened in Geneva on 2526 March2004. Hosted by the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Tradeof Canada, the Henry L. Stimson Center, Project Ploughshares Canada, theSimons Centre for Peace and Disarmament Research, the SimonsFoundation, the Union of Concerned Scientists and the United NationsInstitute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR), the conferenceSafeguarding Space for All: Security and Peaceful Uses drew togetherexperts from industry, science, governments and non-governmental

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organizations to explore ways of ensuring that outer space remains a non-threatening environment and available for the peaceful use of all.Prominent representatives from around the world gave panel presentationson the conferences main topics: space security and peaceful uses of outerspace; means to guarantee space security and assurance; international legalapproaches and the role of the Conference on Disarmament; andtransparency and confidence building