IS IT TIME FOR A NEW OUTER SPACE TREATY? REPORTS OF A RUSSIAN NUCLEAR SPACE WEAPON RAISE QUESTIONS

With space technology able to be used as weaponry, how can we stop Earth orbit from becoming a war zone?

In February 2024, reports of a planned Russian nuclear space weapon renewed Cold Warera fears of the militarisation of Earth orbit. The furore began when US House Intelligence Committee chair Mike Turner issued a public statement asking President Joe Biden to declassify all information relating to a space-based nuclear weapon that Russia is reportedly developing. White House national security communications advisor John F. Kirby assured the public that “though Russia’s pursuit of this particular capability is troubling, there is no immediate threat to anyone’s safety. We are not talking about a weapon that can be used to attack human beings or cause physical destruction here on Earth.” It remains unclear if the potential Russian capability concerns a nuclear warhead in space or a nuclearpowered anti-satellite weapon of some kind.

Nevertheless, the reported Russian nuclear space weapon ignited discussions about the Outer Space Treaty, an international agreement that set the norms for behaviour in space. The Outer Space Treaty was created in response to the development of intercontinental ballistic missiles, which travel through space on their way towards their targets. But since then, space-faring superpowers have developed many other spacecraft and weapon capabilities designed to attack satellites from Earth, threaten other spacecraft from orbit or even launch attacks on groundbased targets from space. The US, Soviet Union and UK were the first three nations to enter the treaty in 1967, and today 114 countries have signed it. In light of these developments, many policymakers and experts are wondering if it is time for a new

Outer Space Treaty. Sharon Squassoni is a George Washington University professor of international affairs whose research focuses on reducing risks from nuclear energy and nuclear weapons. When it comes to the possibility of a new treaty to ban their development or deployment, Squassoni said that Russia today suffers from credibility issues that could stall international cooperation. “The real problem is that even small steps related to transparency or confidencebuilding are virtually impossible, because Putin will reject them as long as he is engaged in war against Ukraine,” Squassoni said, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Squassoni added that Russia’s reported development of a nuclear space weapon is ironic given the nation has historically been at the forefront of establishing arms control in outer space.

In 2008, Russia and China even submitted a joint draft of a new treaty to the United Nations that would build upon the Outer Space Treaty, obligating nations to “refrain from placing objects carrying any type of weapon into orbit, installing weapons on celestial bodies and threatening to use force against objects in outer space.” But the new treaty did not gain widespread international support. “The US and other states opposed it for substantive reasons,” Squassoni said. “A modest agreement prohibiting placing any kind of weapons in orbit could be useful, but traditionally the sticking point has been the need to include ground-based anti-satellite capabilities.”