#16 - RW 10-15-04 - RW Home
RIA Novosti
October 14, 2004
WEAPONS SHOULD NOT BE IN SPACE

MOSCOW, (Andrei Kislyakov, RIA Novosti political analyst) - In the near future, Russia will finish upgrading its satellite constellations. "In 2005, the Space Force will receive nine spacecraft and six rockets from the country's military and industrial sector," Deputy Defense Minister and General of the Armies Andrei Moskovsky said.

This is expected because Russian military experts and others have predicted that space will play an increasingly important role in ensuring national security.

However, anti-satellite systems and other weaponry might be deployed in space as a retaliatory measure.

Realizing the danger, Russia and China submitted draft basic elements of a comprehensive accord on the non-deployment of space weapons at the Conference on Disarmament in 2002. In particular, the document stipulated commitments not to place any weapons systems in orbit, not deploy space weapons on celestial bodies and not to resort to the threat or use of force against space objects.

On October 5, 2004, Russia's permanent representative to the UN in Geneva made an important statement in New York, noting that Russia pledged not to be the first to deploy any weapons in outer space, and that Russia called on all space powers to follow its example.

The Russian initiative was a logical step by a country that recognizes its responsibility when leading world powers opt for military-space defense doctrines. An analytical report that the Tsiolkovsky space exploration academy prepared in early October, speaks volumes in this connection.

"The creation of dual purpose space systems and complexes increases the effectiveness of the Space Forces and is an essential component to maintaining national security," the report reads. The academy's experts believe that developing new early warning, communications, troop control, space reconnaissance, global navigation, meteorological and communications systems and integrating weapons control and troop control systemsis a top priority.

Spacecraft, which are not technically weapons, facilitate the effective use of modern military technology and weapons. As a result, the deployment of orbital anti-satellite systems must be prevented both de jure and de facto. Otherwise, the world would face an unprecedented arms race in outer space; no computer can predict the consequences of that arms race.

Therefore, it is necessary to study the possibility of drafting special accords that would restrict "passive actions" like dual-purpose satellite systems. Ivan Meshcherikov, vice president of the Tsiolkovsky Academy, thinks that the new American system is a serious threat to Russia's entire orbital cluster, especially Glonass navigation and communications satellites.

According to him, the United States is currently deploying new ground radars, which are primarily directed against Russian satellites. "Russia's Glonass navigation system and the United States' GPS have the same frequency and the satellites flying on similar orbital paths," he said. "Still we know that GPS can switch to different frequencies, and our satellites would be defenseless."

Consequently, numerous objectives must be accomplished before a genuinely comprehensive peaceful space accord can be drafted. However, time is running out.