“I think a challenge we’ll be facing is that states have different priorities and visions of what space activities should be like, and they have different ideas about the most important threats to be addressed...”
. The US, Russia, and China are researching the technology for lasers that could be fired from the ground and dazzle or damage a satellite’s sensors.
Furthermore, a dual-purpose technology, like a robotic arm for servicing spacecraft or removing junk from orbit, could in principle be repurposed as a weapon against a rival’s spacecraft. And dual-use spacecraft that provide communications or imaging during war, including government andIn such situations, these spacecraft can appear dangerous to those on the ground—depending on how they’re used. “That includes satellites that are used in weapons targeting: GPS, for example.
To avoid misunderstandings that can escalate tensions, it’s important for nations to be clear about their plans for a certain spacecraft or technology so that other governments don’t assume the worst, says Jessica West, a senior researcher at the research institute Project Ploughshares based in Waterloo, Ontario, who attended the first UN meeting. “There are multiple solutions being proposed, and the first is transparency.
But international diplomats are surely tired after many back-to-back arms control meetings this year, West says. These include the June meeting in Vienna on the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, and the August review conference in New York on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which ended in failure when Russia opposed the final document.
Nevertheless, the UN’s space threat meeting will set the stage for the next one in January, and could provide momentum for nailing down solutions to other longstanding issues, Bowen suggests, like creating clear rules for managing space traffic, setting up keep-out zones near critical spacecraft, and ensuring that nations are more transparent—and prompt—when submitting information to the UN’s.
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