Text Fwd: SPACE SECURITY

* Text sent from J. Narayana Rao on Feb. 2, 2010

SPACE SECURITY
By J.Narayana Rao,
General Secretary, All India Peace&Solidarity Organisation,
Maharashtra State Committee, Nagpur, India

HOW SPACE IS USED:We depend on Space for Navigation, Environmental Monitoring, Meteoroligy, Map making, Whether and Climate monitoring, Surveillance etc. All these activities are made through artiificial Satellites. Artificial Satellites are man made objects launched in space. The first artificial satellite Sputnik was put in orbit in space by the Soviet Union on 4 October 1957.There after more than 1000 satellites have been put in orbit. These are (1) Astronomical satellites for observation of distant planets, galaxies and other objects in Space. (2)Bio-Satellites to Carry living organisms for scientific experiments. (3) Communication Satellites for telecommunications. (4) Navigation Satellites to measure locations. (5) Reconnaisance satellites for military communications. (6) Earth Observation Satellites for environmental monitoring meteoroligy and map making. (7) Whether Satellites for monitoring Weather and Climate. (9) Space Stations for human beings to live in outer Space.

These Satellites will be in orbit in space at three stages in altitude. (1) Low Earth Orbit(LEO) is upto 2000 K.M from the earth. (2) Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) is higher than 2000 KM and below 35,786 Km. (3) Higher Earth Orbit is above 35,786 Km.

THREAT TO SPACE SECURITY: Space Security is threatened by weaponisation of Space, Space Junk and Space Debris.

On 23 March 1983 President Ronald Regan of USA announced the Strategic Defence Initiative programme which has become well known as Star Wars Programme. Subsequently, his successor H.W.Bush changed it as National Missile Defence Programme. Thereafter George W.Bush convrted it as Ballistic Missile Defence. All these programmes are linked with Space Wars whater ever may be the nomenclature.

The plan for US domination of space has been outlined in the US Space Command document Vision For 2020. The salient feature of this document are (1) Dominating Space dimension of Military Operations to protect US interests and investments. (2) Integrating Space forces into war fighting capabilities across the full spectrum of conflict. (3) The medium of Space is the fourth medium of warfare along with land, sea and air. (4)The emerging synergy of space superiority with land,sea and air superiority will lead to full spectrum domination. (5) Space power is vital element in moving towards the joint vision goal of being persuasive in peace,decisive in war and pre-eminent in any form of conflict. (6)And to counter to the world wide proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction.

The perception of US to dominate Space and use it for War has invited condemnation from many countires and warned that it will lead to arms race in Space.

TYPE OF SPACE WEAPONS: Space Weapons have not yet become common and popularly known except in military circles. Some of these are (1) Laser Beams. (2) Anti Satellite Weapons. (3) Space based ballistic Missiles. (4) Orbiting Satellites Capable of intercepting and disabling other satellites.(5) Satellites that carry weapons capable of hitting target.

IMPACT OF WEAPONISATION OF SPACE: There will be an Arms Race In Space as it happened with Nuclear Weapons. When USA tested and dropped Atomic Weapons on Hiroshima and Nagasaki,it created an Arms Race of Nuclear Weapons. This will also result in the violation of various UNO Treaties which prohibit deployment of weapons in Space. Space doest belong to any one nation and it belongs to the entire mankind.More and more countries will try to reach Space for Military purposes if weaponisation of space is not prevented.

SPACE JUNK AND SPACE DEBRIS:There are 2300 dead and defunct Satellites in Space.Collision and exploisions of satellites create debris.On Feb 2009 two Satellites Iridium 33 and defunct Cosmost 2251 collided at a height of 470 miles orbiting with a speed of 22000 mph.Pegasus rocket launched in 1994 exploded and created a cloud of some 300,00 fragments bigger than 4 mm.Olympus was hit by a meteor on 11 Aughst 1993.On 24 July 1996 Cerise a French Satellite was hit by fragments of Arian H10 upper stage booster which exploded in 1986.On 29 March 2006 the Russian Express AM II Communication Satellite was struck by an unknown object.In 2007 a Chinese defunct satellite was blasted by a missile (ASAT) at an altitude of 860 Km.It created more that 2300 golf ball size pieces,over 36000 pieces of 1 cm or larger and 1 million peces of 1 mm or lesser size..On 19 Feb 2007 a Russion Briz M Booser stage rocket eploded over Australia.In 1985 an Anti Satillite Test conducted by US destroyed a one tonne satellite orbiting at 625 Km altitude.On 20 Feb 2008 US destroyed a defective spy satellite of their own by a SM-3 missile. In March 2000 a Chinese Long March upper stage exploded in orbit.The oldest debri is the space is the US Satellite Vanguard I launched on 17 March 1968.It worked for 6 years only.Cosmos 1275 of the USSR disappeared on 24 July 1981,only one month after launch.

LOST EQUIPMENT:When the astronauts make space walks and also under takes repairs to the Space wehicles many articles will be lost into the space.A glove was lost by Edward White during the first US Space walk in 1965. It was in orbit for six months orbiting at a speed of 28000 kmph.Astronaut of Gemini 10 Michael lost a Camera near the Space Craft. Near about 200 bags of garbage were thrown out by the Soviet Cosmonauts from the MIR Space Station. Sunita William also lost a Camera during her space walk. Spent Rocket parts, defunct and unused satellites, explodedfragments,paint flakes, slags from solid rocket motors, small needles,nuts and bolts also come under space debris.

HOW MANY DEBRIS IN SPACE:The NASA estimated in 2009 that that the number of large pices of debris over 10 cms are `9,000. Between 1 and 10 cms at 500,000 and smaller that 1 cm exceed tens of millions. Another study made in 1999 relveal that there are some 4 million pouns of spae junk in the Low Earh Orbit. During the last one decfade the estimated objects of over 10 cms in the Lower Earth Orbit have more than doubled from 8500 in 1990 to 19,000 in 2009.Space debris revolve around the globe at speeds of upto 25,000 mph with altitude ranging from hundred to thousands of miles.

SATELLITE PROTECTIVE MEASURES:Damage to the Space Crafts from the Space Debris is prevented by additing a thin layer of metal foil outside the main space craft body. When debris collide with foil with high velocity the debris will be vaporized and the plasma spreads out quickly. By this process, damage to the inner wall of the space craft is protected. Space Crafts powered by Solar Panels are liable to be affected badly because the front portion of the Panel are positioned directly towards the Sun As a result they get punctured by the debris.

UNITED NATIONS SPACE TREATY: The United Nations Organization adopted a treaty in the year 1967 on the Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space including the Moon and Other Cellestial Bodies. Interalia this Treaty confers the right to all Nations to use and explore the Outer Space for the benefit of all peoples irrespective of different economic or scientific developments in accordance with the International Law. Exploration and use of Outer Space should be only for peaceful purposes. The establishment of military bases, installations and fortifications, the testing of any type of weapons and conduct of military manoeuvres on celestial bodies is forbidden.

KEEP SPACE FOR PEACEFULL PURPOSES: Respecting the UN Treaty on the peaceful use of outer space and to prevent any Nation how powerfull it may be to weaponise Space, lest it results in an arms race in outer space, all countries must take steps to keep Space for peacefull purposes only. In this direction the Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space is campaigning world wide, to prevent Space from becoming another battle ground. Russiaa,China and Canada are seeking an international agreement on Preventing an Arms Race in Outer Space(PAROS).But United States of America and Israel are preventing PAROS talks Col. Gen.Vladimir Popovkin of Russia warned in September 2007 that should any country deploy weapons in space,then the laws of armed warfare are such that retaliatory weapons are certain to appear. Former President Dr. A.P.J.Abdul Kalam while speaking on Space Security in Nov 2007 said that the main security concern is that Outer Space should be free of weapons.We must recognize the necessity for the world, space community to avoid terrestrial geo-political conflict to be drawn into outer space thus threatening the space asses belonging to humanity.
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