US and Russian officials will meet in Vienna on Monday to discuss whether and how to regulate the militarisation of space, in the wake of an alleged Russian satellite-launched missile test.
The two governments agreed to hold a “space security exchange” in January, but the meeting was put off as a result of the pandemic.
It is due to take place in the Austrian capital just days after US Space Command accused Russia of testing a space-launched projectile from one of its satellites. It also claimed Russia had conducted a similar test in 2017. Russian routinely insists its activities in space are entirely peaceful.
Christopher Ford, the US assistant secretary of state for international security and non-proliferation, said: “Our hope is that this meeting will allow us to explore ways to increase stability and security in outer space, as well as to advance the cause of developing norms of responsible behavior in that vital domain.”
The diplomats, generals and space scientists due to meet in Vienna “can look into making it clear that outer space is not a lawless and ungoverned territory but in fact is, one in which, in wartime for example, all the usual international humanitarian law or law of armed conflict rules will apply there as well”.
However, the US is opposed to negotiating a treaty limiting military activities in space.
“That sounds nice on paper, [but] the challenge is that it is virtually impossible adequately to define a space weapon. And even if you could, it’s almost impossible to verify that anyone would be complying with such a rule if you put it in place,” Ford said.
In a conference call with reporters, Ford gave an account of the alleged Russian space-based anti-satellite weapon tests in 2017 and on 15 July.
In both cases he said a “mother” satellite birthed a “daughter” satellite which then released a projectile, “a loose outer space analogy of a bullet”.
“Any satellite is intrinsically a very delicate bit of machinery operating in a zero-gravity environment, and zooming around at extraordinary orbital velocities,” Ford said. “In that context, it doesn’t take much of a collision to cause absolutely catastrophic damage. I like to say there’s no such thing as a fender bender up there.”
