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  • War in space...

  • it's something just in Hollywood movies, right?

  • We'll show you how the law is designed to prevent conflicts

  • and ask if it's good enough to do it.

  • How the Cold War shaped today's laws for exploring space...

  • If someone disobeys a law, then they lose too.

  • So, this is the core principle

  • that urges countries to behave in space.

  • What happens after Donald Trump formed a new space military?

  • We've been sending people and spacecraft into orbit for decades.

  • But why has thatso farremained peaceful?

  • July 1975...

  • two men shake hands in space.

  • One was American Brigadier General Thomas Stafford.

  • The other was cosmonaut Alexei Leonov.

  • This historic handshake symbolised improving relations

  • in the long-running Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union,

  • but their conflict was far from over.

  • The two countries competed for superiority after World War Two.

  • Their efforts to get to space were part of that:

  • this was known as the space race.

  • So, what was to stop one country

  • from launching nuclear weapons from a spacecraft

  • or claiming the Moon as a military base?

  • The Outer Space Treaty, signed in 1967,

  • was an international effort to make that kind of thing illegal.

  • Space lawyer Deepika Jayakodi told us what you're banned from doing.

  • The Outer Space Treaty bans placing weapons of mass destruction,

  • or nuclear weapons, around the Earth's orbit,

  • or on the Moon and celestial bodies.

  • The Outer Space Treaty also bans establishing military bases,

  • building forts, testing weapons

  • and also conducting military manoeuvres

  • in the celestial bodies or on the Moon.

  • The Outer Space Treaty, or OST,

  • bans weapons of mass destruction on the Moon or other celestial bodies.

  • It also means that building military bases is not allowed either.

  • So, was it just about stopping nuclear war

  • between the Soviet Union and America?

  • The international community wanted to ensure that...

  • that rivalries on Earth were not extended into space.

  • The Outer Space Treaty was also brought at a time

  • when many countries were gaining freedom from the colonial powers.

  • So, in essence, this law was meant to avoid conflicts in space

  • and to ensure that the activity's for the benefit of humanity as a whole.

  • The OST was created to avoid conflict in space

  • and to make sure that space was for the benefit of all humanity.

  • So, what would happen if a country broke the treaty?

  • Nothing really stops any country from disobeying the Outer Space Treaty.

  • In general, space is a special field.

  • It is for everyone.

  • So, if someone disobeys a law, then they lose too.

  • So, this is the core principle

  • that urges countries to behave in space.

  • Although there's nothing to stop a country disobeying the OST,

  • if they break a rule, it impacts them too.

  • So, is the treaty good enough for today?

  • The principles in the Outer Space Treaty are as valid

  • as the were a few decades ago.

  • Having said that, there are some ambiguities and gaps in the law,

  • because of new technologies and developments,

  • and there are a lot of efforts that are going on

  • to fill the gaps in the existing laws.

  • The OST was created a long time ago

  • so there are some gaps in the laws,

  • but the principles are still valid.

  • Let's have a look at a very real example of how the situation has changed

  • since America signed the Outer Space Treaty.

  • Former US Vice President Mike Pence in 2019.

  • As the President has said,

  • we all recogniseit's been frankly true for decades

  • in his words, space is a war-fighting domain.

  • The United States Space Force will ensure that our nation is prepared.

  • America launched a new space military service,

  • the Space Force, later that year.

  • Although it sounds like something straight out of Star Wars,

  • the US Space Force is not as dramatic as it sounds.

  • It does not intend to send troops into space.

  • Instead, it would protect the things that belong to the US,

  • like satellites used for communications and surveillance.

  • But the US isn't the first country to use space for military purposes.

  • Russia and China have been doing it for years,

  • and it's believed that all three countries have tested weapons

  • that could destroy a satellite in space.

  • Do these new developments mean space,

  • as domain of peace, is over?

  • Does the Space Force break the Outer Space Treaty?

  • Here's Professor Dale Stephens,

  • a space war specialist from the University of Adelaide:

  • The creation of the US Space Force is not breaking any laws.

  • Many states that operate in space have, within their militaries,

  • components that work with their military satellites

  • and their military objects. So, what the Americans have done

  • is quite consistent with what other countries are doing.

  • What America has done is given it more prominence

  • and given it a particular place in their structure,

  • but countries like Russia and China also have a Space Force,

  • but it's just presented in a different way.

  • Although the US Space Force is a new development,

  • it doesn't break any laws and other countries have similar operations.

  • Has anyone broken the law around fighting in space?

  • There have been no breaches so far in space.

  • That's not to say that satellites and space objects

  • have not been used for fighting armed conflict on Earth; they have.

  • But in terms of space itself, there's been no war in space,

  • there's been no conflict and so there has been no breach yet,

  • but it may be just a matter of time,

  • in which case we've got to be very clear about what the law is,

  • so as to avoid misunderstanding.

  • So far, there haven't been any breaches of the law in space,

  • but the law must be very clear to prevent misunderstandings.

  • What would happen if a country stepped out of line?

  • So, depending on what the law is, if they've committed a war crime,

  • then if they are party to the International Criminal Court,

  • then they or the individuals who committed the war crime

  • can find themselves before the court.

  • If they've committed an act of aggression,

  • then the Security Council can step in, much as it can on Earth

  • and it can make a determination about violation.

  • And you've always got bodies such as the International Committee of the Red Cross

  • that are forever monitoring compliance with the law of armed conflict

  • and they would certainly get involved if a country steps out of line.

  • If a country commits a crime in space,

  • they could go to court just like on Earth.

  • Organisations like the Red Cross check they're following the law

  • in armed conflicts on Earth.

  • But do space treaties only cover the countries that have signed them?

  • International law comprises of treaties,

  • but it also comprises of something called customary international law,

  • which is like common law,

  • which exists in the UK and Commonwealth nations,

  • and there is no doubt in anybody's mind

  • that when it comes to weapons of mass destruction, like nuclear weapons,

  • then the prohibition that is contained in the treaty

  • also applies as a matter of customary international law.

  • There is no legal argument available to any country

  • to put a nuclear weapon in full orbit around the Earth

  • under either the treaty or this thing called customary international law.

  • Customary law means that no country can do something

  • like putting a nuclear weapon in space,

  • even if they haven't actually signed a treaty agreeing to it.

  • Space exploration is meant to be for the benefit of all humankind.

  • Avoiding war is a benefit.

  • This makes space wars very unlikely.

  • We've seen that that covers recent developments.

  • And even if countries haven't signed up,

  • the law still keeps space free from nuclear weapons,

  • keeping us safe here on Earth.

War in space...

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