21 October 2008
U.S. Emphasizes the Need for International Space Cooperation
Debris from China’s anti-satellite test poses spaceflight, satellite hazard
Washington — International cooperation is a fundamental tenet of the United States and other “responsible spacefaring nations,” according to the U.S. delegate to the U.N. General Assembly’s First Committee on Disarmament and International Security.
The committee is debating issues related to averting an arms race in outer space. U.S. delegate Karen House told the meeting October 20 that the United States opposes any legally binding arms control proposals related to space but “enthusiastically supports voluntary and concrete measures that address practical problems.”
As an example, she pointed out that the United States has been a leading proponent of international cooperation “to mitigate orbital debris and to preserve the space environment for future generations.”
House said the United States supports a recent French initiative to create an informal working group of specialists from the public and private space sectors “to ensure the long-term sustainability of space activities.”
A ROLE FOR VOLUNTARY MEASURES
She said the United States continues to support voluntary transparency and confidence-building measures (TCBMs). Some new voluntary TCBMs, House said, “have the potential to enhance satellite safety and reduce uncertainty in an evolving space security environment.”
“We have welcomed the opportunity for trans-Atlantic dialogue with the European Union regarding proposals for a set of TCBMs that focus upon a pragmatic and incremental approach to space safety and security,” she said.
The U.S. delegate also said the United States sought to work on a draft U.N. resolution with Russia and China to explore the feasibility of new voluntary TCBMs. No agreement could be reached, House said, because those two countries “refused to agree to a neutral TCBM resolution unencumbered by linkages to space arms control constraints and limitations.”
Instead, she said, China and Russia have sought to link useful TCBMs to space arms control agreements that cannot be verified. House expressed the U.S. government’s disappointment that Russia, so far, has declined to accept an invitation to send candidates from the Russian Space Forces to meet with their counterparts at the U.S. Strategic Command near Omaha, Nebraska.
CONSISTENT U.S. SPACE POLICY OVER TIME
House reminded her audience that U.S. space policy has remained unchanged through various administrations and over many decades. Such continuity is framed by U.S. support for the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, which she said “continues to provide the legal foundation to respond to the emerging challenges of the 21st century.”
The United States consistently has opposed arms control concepts, proposals and legally binding regimes “that seek or impose prohibitions on the use of space for military or intelligence purposes,” House said. It also opposes any arms control proposals that “fail to preserve the rights of the United States to conduct research, development, testing, and operations in space for . . . civil or commercial purposes,” she added.
House said the existing treaty regime — consisting of the Outer Space Treaty, the 1968 Rescue Agreement, the 1972 Liability Convention and the 1974 Registration Convention — provides sufficient guarantee of the rights of all nations for access to space and operations conducted there.
Addressing those who use rhetoric about preventing an arms race in space, House said that that the United States always has said it is impossible “to define the nature of a space-based ‘weapon.’” The United States also believes it is impossible “to develop an effectively verifiable agreement” to ban space-based weapons and Earth-based anti-satellite systems (ASATs), she said.
ORBITAL DEBRIS FROM CHINESE ASAT TEST
House went on to address issues related to China’s unannounced January 11, 2007, ASAT test. China’s military action using a ballistic missile to destroy a Chinese Fengyun-1C meteorological satellite at an altitude of approximately 870 kilometers generated more than 2,750 pieces of orbital debris.
“The debris cloud created by this intentional act,” House said, “means that China is now responsible for more debris in low-Earth orbit than any other country,” and this material poses a hazard to both spaceflights and satellites.
The delegate expressed concerns that the Chinese government has not provided “adequate responses to questions posed by the international community regarding China’s military intentions” for the ASAT test and other programs.
All nations benefiting from commercial and security-related activities in outer space “should continue to register their concerns about the increased risk of collisions with debris” from the Chinese test, House said, “and make clear their opposition to any further destructive ASAT tests.”
She said the international community should discourage further tests and “make clear that there will be consequences for any such irresponsible actions and for any intentional endangerment of human spaceflight and other space activities.”
House said China must abide by its private assurances to the United States that it will not conduct additional tests. Future actions to the contrary, she added, would undermine the credibility of China’s commitment to act responsibly in space.
For more information, see “U.S. Opposes Restriction on Uses of Space.”
