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Outer Space at Risk: New Study Spotlights Anti-Satellite and Space Debris Threats (Forwarded)
Space Security
Waterloo, Ontario, Canada For more information contact: Amb. Thomas Graham, Jr. Cypress fund for Peace and Security 202-361-7452 Dr. William Marshall NASA Ames Research Center 805-403-2096 Dr. Ray Williamson Secure World Foundation 303-501-0430 Dr. Ram Jakhu Institute of Air and Space Law McGill University 514-398-1382 Dr. Wade Huntley Simons Centre for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Research University of British Columbia 604-788-1107 John Siebert Project Ploughshares 519-888-6541 x 710 For Immediate Release: 6 September 2007 Outer Space at Risk: New Study Spotlights Anti-Satellite and Space Debris Threats Anti-satellite weapons and space debris are increasing threats to the security of outer space, concludes Space Security 2007, released today: * Ongoing anti-satellite programs are increasing international tensions over the security of outer space * Debris from China's recent anti-satellite test has created a serious problem for the routine and safe operations of all nations' spacecraft * It is in all nations' self-interest to safeguard use of the space environment, but there is a widening impasse on how to do this The US continues to have a small and controversial program for space-based ballistic missile defense and proto-technologies that may form the basis for future space-based weapons. More immediate threats come from weapons programs on Earth, demonstrated by the Chinese anti-satellite test on 11 January 2007. "There is growing tension between the US and China over the security of outer space, largely driven by mistrust and suspicions over weapons programs," says Dr. Ray Williamson, Executive Director of Secure World Foundation, a contributor to the report. Increase in space debris is a related danger highlighted by Space Security 2007. The Chinese ASAT test created 1500 pieces of trackable debris in heavily used orbits -- one of the worst manmade debris-creating events in history -- but debris caused by routine space operations is also a problem. "Since 2004, the annual production of new debris has been steadily rising, following a decline in the 1990s," says Dr. William Marshall from the NASA Ames Research Center who advised research for the report. "Even a small piece of metal, traveling at 7.5 km/second, can destroy a spacecraft worth billions of dollars." Space Security 2007 also points to a widening impasse on how to manage these threats. "International efforts to restrict conventional weapons from space have been stalled for decades. In part this is because the US has been unwilling to support such efforts. This position was reaffirmed by the US National Space Policy released in October 2006, which opposes new agreements that would limit US freedom of action in space," explains Ambassador Thomas Graham, Jr., a former US Ambassador for Nonproliferation. Williamson adds that "the Chinese ASAT test has prompted some US officials to call for a revived US ASAT effort." "Outer space is of strategic concern to a growing number of countries," explains Dr. M. Lucy Stojak, who is a faculty member at the International Space University. "It accounts for over US$100-billion in global revenues and is indispensable to national and human security, health, education, and disaster management. It is in everyone's interest to safeguard the sustainable use of the space environment." "Space Security 2007 joins its predecessors as a trustworthy interdisciplinary source of information for policymakers required to understand and balance the competing demands and resulting tensions of commercial, military and civil uses of space," says John Siebert, Executive Director of Project Ploughshares, which coordinated the report. Space Security 2007 is the only comprehensive source of data and analysis on space activities and their cumulative impact on the security of outer space. The report is part of an annual series produced the Space Security Index, whose partners include the Cypress Fund for Peace and Security, the Institute of Air and Space Law at McGill University, Project Ploughshares, Secure World Foundation, the Simons Centre for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Research at the University of British Columbia, and the Space Generation Foundation. It is supported by the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade and the Ford Foundation. Space Security 2007. Waterloo, ON: Spacesecurity.org, August 2007 ISBN: 978-1-895722-58-1 Complete report and executive summary available at www.spacesecurity.org |
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