Collective Security in Space, a key factor for a sustainable long term use of Space

1
Collective Security in Space, a key factor for a
sustainable long term use of Space

• Gérard Brachet
• Space Policy Consultant
• Incoming chair, United Nations Committee on
  the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS)
• 2006 2008
• Note The views expressed in this presentation
  are the personal views of the author and do not
  necessarily reflect the views of the UN COPUOS
  nor of the UN Secretariat

2
Collective Security in Space, a key factor for a
sustainable long term use of Space

• Space is humankinds next frontier
• Space systems provide enormous benefits to our
  society
• Applications to everyday life
• Defence and security
• Scientific research, exploration of our Solar
  system and understanding the Universe

3
Collective Security in Space, a key factor for a
sustainable long term use of Space

• Multiplication of government and private space
  operators
• 19 countries master launch systems
• More than 50 nations and regional organizations
  operate satellites in Earth orbit
• Space is becoming a more and more popular place!
• Ensuring secure access and uses of space in the
  future is a challenge

4
Collective Security in Space, a key factor for a
sustainable long term use of Space

• Question Are space activities in Earth orbit
  sustainable in the long term?
• Today situation
• - 600 operational satellites
• - 9000 identified objects larger than 10 cm, of
  which
• - 40 are satellites no longer in operation
  and spent rocket upper stages
• - 54 are fragments and other objects
• - 300 000 objects between 1 and 10 cm
• - several millions below 1cm?

5
Collective Security in Space, a key factor for a
sustainable long term use of Space

• The space debris situation is scary enough.
• If offensive activities were to take place in
  space, the consequences would make it even worse.
• But deployment of weapons in space has not
  happened (with a few exceptions in the early
  days) in almost fifty years of space activities.

6
Collective Security in Space, a key factor for a
sustainable long term use of Space

• Space weapons deployment could very well be a
  self-defeating proposition
• - costly
• - probably less efficient than ground-based
  weapons
• - difficult to maintain
• - would start another arms race

7
Collective Security in Space, a key factor for a
sustainable long term use of Space

• What measures could ensure security of space
  assets in the future?
• Which mechanism(s) to develop a common approach
  to such measures?

8
Collective Security in Space, a key factor for a
sustainable long term use of Space

• The  space debris mitigation  work of the
  COPUOS Scientific and Technical Sub-Committee and
  the resulting space debris mitigation guidelines,
  based largely on the IADC work, is a good
  illustration of how the international community
  can agree on such  rules of the road 

9
Collective Security in Space, a key factor for a
sustainable long term use of Space

• What about the CD PAROS discussion?
• One can doubt that, in the present political
  context, the CD will agree on anything with
  respect to security in space.
• Space is marginal to the CD debate, and the
  issue of space security is much wider, concerning
  both civilian and military aspects.

10
Collective Security in Space, a key factor for a
sustainable long term use of Space

• A proposal
• What about setting up a joint COPUOS-CD/PAROS
  Working Group tasked with studying the
  feasability of  rules of the road  to ensure
  better security for space activities?
• A starting point could be the IAA Cosmic Study
  on  Space Traffic Management .

11
Collective Security in Space, a key factor for a
sustainable long term use of Space

• A possible approach would be to address the
  technical aspects first, avoiding political
  deadlock in the early stage of such discussions.
• Legal and political aspects would be considered
  later, once an agreement is in view from a
  technical standpoint.

12
Collective Security in Space, a key factor for a
sustainable long term use of Space

• Ensuring long term secured access and use of
  outer space is not a defence issue only.
• It requires an active dialogue between the
  civilian and military communities to address how
  can space be kept safe and secure.
• Both express the same concern security of their
  space assets.
• And they share the same environment around our
  planet.

13
Collective Security in Space, a key factor for a
sustainable long term use of Space

• Thank you for your attention
• Thank you to the Space Policy Institute of
  George Washington University for inviting me to
  share my views with you today.

14
Collective Security in Space, a key factor for a
sustainable long term use of Space

• Appendix on the Outer Space Treaty (1)
• What is allowed and what is not allowed in terms
  of weaponization of outer space
• Article IV
• State parties to the Treaty undertake not to
  place in orbit around the Earth any object
  carrying nuclear weapons or any other kind of
  weapons of mass destruction, install such weapons
  on celestial bodies or station such weapons in
  outer space in any other manner.

15
Collective Security in Space, a key factor for a
sustainable long term use of Space

• Appendix (2)
• Article IV of the Outer Space Treaty further
  states that  any installation, weapons testing
  and military activity on the surface of the Moon
  or other celestial bodies are forbidden .
• In other words, deployment of weapons which are
  not weapons of mass destruction is not forbidden
  by the OST in Earth orbit.
• However, deployment of any weapon on the Moon and
  other celestial bodies is banned.