Space Control

Space control is a method of watching and protecting space from any type of non peaceful space faring undergone by any nation of the world. From the beginning of the Space Race, it was soon realized that using space for anything but peaceful endeavors would have serious consequences on the future of the human race, and therefore international treaties were created and signed by the space faring nations of the time, stipulating that space can and must be used for peaceful purposes only and for the benefit of all mankind. Therefore, methods of space control must always be in place to assure such stipulations are continuously respected and maintained. During the Cold War era, one such method of space control were the reconnaissance satellites, [1] developed early in the Space Race mainly as response to the launch of Sputnik I and the suspicion that the Soviet Union already had such reconnaissance capabilities in place. Another implemented method was that of the anti-satellite systems, which of course implied the complete aggressive destruction of the enemy target. Such aggressive methods were however found to be quite repulsive after the end of the Cold War, and therefore new and less aggressive methods of space control had to be implemented.

Nowadays, a non-destructive space control tool implies temporarily and reversibly affecting the functionality of the enemy target without blowing it up. [2] This method does support the above mentioned definition of space control because it implies disabling the enemy hardware by make it dysfunctional and hence stopping any type of possible aggressive use of space. It also gives the participating nations a chance for discussing the issue on a diplomatic level rather than a military one. Answering aggression with aggression does not bear peaceful fruits, and therefore a space control tool that does not imply military action but still protects space is an excellent method. Another huge advantage of a non-destructive space control tool is the avoidance of generating more space debris. [3] Space debris has become a huge issue in orbit, and any more anti-satellite actions could only make the situation worse. Especially after China’s 2007 anti-satellite action, this issue has become an important one. This is yet another reason why answering an anti-satellite action with the same method would not be a smart way of space control. Besides this, such method would further contribute to the reduction of space debris simply by its capability to deactivate any anti-satellite weapon before detonation. In the same time, using a non-destructive space control method does not contravene international treaties that forbid the use of any type of weapons in space. An example of such non-destructive space control tools are the ones deployed to interfere and possibly jam the Libyan, Iranian and Chinese communication satellites. [4]

Notes:

[1] Gonzales, Daniel. The Changing Role of the U.S. Military in Space. http://www.rand.org/pubs/monograph_reports/MR895/index.html (accessed February 5, 2013), 26.

[2] Ibid, 40.

[3] Ibid, 40.

[4] Sheehan, Michael J. Securing Outer Space. Routledge: NY, 2009, 30.