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Militarization of Space - Daily Current Affair Article for

UPSC, IAS, Civil Services and State PCS Examinations
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Militarization of Space - Daily Current Affair Article for UPSC, IAS, Civil
Services and State PCS Examinations

Context
Recently, the US and Britain have accused Russia of militarizing space.

Introduction :-
 The superpowers of the world have always been accused of militarizing space.
In this sequence, Britain and America have said that Russia is militarizing space,
which they have evidence of. The US said that this step of Russia is going to be
real, serious and continuous. In this context, Russian officials said that the
launched Cosmos-2542 is applicable only for surveillance of Russian satellites. Its
history dates back to the days of the Cold War competing America and the Soviet
Union. Today, apart from these two, countries like China and India have also
entered this competition.

Global Mindset on Space Utilization

Internally, for many years, it has been agreed that space should be used for human
welfare and peaceful purposes. Examples should be weather monitoring, help in
search and rescue, detection of space debris issues in detecting potential natural
disasters, minimizing harmful effects on Earth, use of space for research in science,
research, health etc. The United Nations (U.N.) outer space treaty provides the basic
framework on international space law, according to the treaty that space should be
reserved for peaceful use. It came into effect in October 1967. The treaty includes the
following principles:

Outer space exploration and use will be done in the interest of all countries and
for all mankind;
Outer space will be free for exploration and use by all countries;
Outer space is not subject to sovereign claims through sovereignty, use or
occupation, or by any other means;
States will not place nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction on
celestial bodies or in any other way in outer space
The moon and other celestial bodies will be used exclusively for peaceful
purposes;
Astronauts will be considered as messengers of mankind;
The countries concerned will be responsible for national space activities carried
out by governmental or non-governmental activities.
The countries concerned will be responsible for the damage caused by their
space objects;

But the treaty does not specify what is meant by space weapons. Nor does it forbid the
deployment of Earth-to-space weapons. In late 2000, the United Nations General
Assembly voted on a resolution called the Prevention of Outer Space Arms Race. It
was adopted with a record vote of 163 but the three countries Micronesia, Israel and
the United States were not included in this vote. In the 2006 voting where Israel was
absent, the United States of America voted against it and the vote was passed by 166:1.
Therefore, it is clear that the conventions of the world community want a peaceful
use of space. Nevertheless, the coming of such allegations is indicative of the fact that
this treaty has not been fully accepted by the member countries.

Superpowers and militarization in outer space

After officially proposing the United States Space Force as the sixth branch of the
US Army in June 2018, US President Donald Trump made changes to the National
Defense Authorization Act to reestablish the US Space Command which would
later diverge from the US Strategic Command as a fully integrated combat
command. This decision by the US would certainly give a boost to Space-Race.
Russia and China will continue to carry a full range of anti-satellite weapons as a
means of reducing US military effectiveness and overall security.
This claim was also accepted by the Worldwide Threat Assessment and stated
that "China and Russia are training and equipping their military space forces
and building new anti-satellite weapons to put the US and allied space services
at risk." ".
The development of Russian and Chinese space technology has increased
American concerns.
China has achieved remarkable progress in areas such as space vehicles, satellite
launches, manned space flight, and anti-satellite and sensor technologies,
making it an important force in aerospace technology and equipment. Destroyed
his power.
The cost of space weaponization makes it specific to the world's superpowers.
The United States Department of Defense cost unclassified space projects more
than $ 9 billion, and the 2016 budget for science and technology for space-based
systems exceeds $ 7 billion in the defense budget. Both Russia and China have
formed their branches to respond to threats from outside, but have not disclosed
their budget. The space-to-earth weapon, or so-called "space weapon", became a
serious subject during the space race. So severe, that in 1967 both the US and the
USSR signed the United Nations Outer Space Treaty, which Restricts "nuclear
weapons or other weapons of mass destruction" or in celestial bodies or "in some
other way into outer space". According to the Russian representative, the treaty
could prevent an arms race in outer space by discouraging any state from
deploying weapons into Earth orbit.

Militarization of space and India:-

India is always in favor of world peace. But the space race of the ever-increasing
superpowers and tensions with China is also increasing. In such a situation, it
was necessary for India to increase its technology. So India launched the anti-
satellite mission "Mission Shakti" on 27 March 2019.
Conclusion: -
Opposition to treaty and space race by superpowers is giving rise to extreme
problems and inviting other countries to compete which is putting humanity in
crisis . Sovereignty, economic progress will be incomplete without humanity.
Therefore, it is necessary that all countries protect humanity and accept the 1967
treaty.

General Studies Paper-3

Science and Technology

Mains Question:-

Is the world superpowers, by not following United Nations (U.N.) Outer Space
Treaty , inviting the humanity crisis? Discuss?