SKYMUN VIII Chair Report Committee: Disarmament Commission Issue: Measures to Prevent an Arms Race in Space Student Officer: Sarah Ju, Assistant President 1. Introduction Outer space has always been something for humans to look up at and fantasize about. As a new technological era in the 20th century dawned, tangibly learning about the vast expanse of nothingness we live in became a more plausible idea. With sufficient effort and research, scientists were able to send machines and animals to outer space, and soon, even people followed in these footsteps and were launched into space, accomplishing a goal of mankind by venturing through unknown areas (Logsdon). However, despite the fact that the exploration of space may result in various benefits such as acquiring unknown scientific information, helping to figure out unanswered questions about the universe, and encouraging international cooperation, it is incredibly difficult to do so peacefully as nations and private corporations will often attempt to engage in an outer space arms race, a competitive race of developing military resources for the purpose of achieving superiority over the opposing party. As a humankind that should favor peace alongside scientific advancements, it is of utmost urgency to best assess how to navigate using outer space in a solely peaceful manner. The continuous exploration of space has brought to light the necessity of maintaining peaceful relations internationally as long as more strides toward expanding innovation are made and people continue to adventure through space. Humanity is endeavoring in exploring space for numerous reasons, and while all of them are valid rationales for journeying through space and should have relatively positive effects on the world, space exploration often becomes harmful when the acquisition of such power in outer space by a specific nation or corporation leads to the exploitation of space for military potential. Thus, preventing an arms race in space is a necessary subject to contemplate in order to ensure international stability and diplomatic relations between countries and private sectors. The question of utilizing outer space becomes a major issue when the threat of violence is introduced, such as the militarization and weaponization of space, which are different yet still facilitate non-peaceful relations between bodies (Vasani). Currently, space is not weaponized, as there are no weapons deployed there to destroy space objects such as satellites. However, it is militarized, meaning it aids with military purposes such as surveilling battlefields and mapping military assets, which is an easy way for space to become a means by which a country is able to perform acts of violence (Saperstein). Because of this, it is important to keep in mind the possibility of an arms race, which would cause international turmoil. Because of the potential violence that the use of space may entail, the agenda of promoting peaceful uses of outer space proves itself to be an incredibly imperative one: peace must be maintained in order for real progress to be made. Outer space was not always a place for breeding hostility between nations, but it easily became a playing ground for international conflict as the Cold War took place in the mid-1900s. A space race began between the capitalist United States and the communist Soviet Union in order to prove superiority in terms of technology, military power, and political systems. On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1, the first ever satellite, into space. This was a victory on the Soviet end; however, the U.S. quickly established the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in order to conduct research and make progress toward advanced space exploration. The United States shortly followed the launching of Sputnik the subsequent year on January 31, 1958 when it launched Explorer 1. Russian Yuri Gagarin and American Alan Shepherd became the first people to orbit Earth as the Cold War continued on. The United States launched Apollo 11, a mission to the moon, in 1969, and in July of that year, the first moon landing took place as Neil Armstrong took “one giant leap for mankind” (A Brief History of Space Exploration). Following the historic moment, the two nations shifted focus from an outer space race to researching in order to consider the militarization of outer space. Many military and spy satellites were launched into orbit and still exist in space today, resulting in an increase of hostility between different parties. Later, in the 1980s, the United States began the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), a program created to shoot down nuclear missiles in outer space. This initiative placed pressure on the Soviet Union to take up a similar system; however, the Soviet economy was nearing catastrophe, and eventually the SDI became a factor in the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. The Cold War thus ended in the late ‘90s. The history of space exploration continues to the present and extends to private corporations as the privatization of space travel comes into play in the current day. All of these events together accumulate to create the potential for a massive arms race in space, which is why it is so significant to consider these implications in the status quo. 2. Definition of Key Terms Outer Space Outer space is defined as the “relatively empty regions of the universe outside the atmospheres of celestial bodies” (Outer Space). In the last century, humanity began to discover more areas of outer space and invested in ways to expand its knowledge about the universe. However, with the vast amounts of scientific advancements that came alongside the development of space exploration came various negative impacts, such as spurred competitiveness between different nations and the militarization of outer space. Militarization of Outer Space The militarization of outer space entails that space is used in a way that activities and technologies that operate in outer space aid in military purposes. It has been a common consensus that outer space should be used for the positive interest of humankind. However, nations such as the United States want to militarize space in order to be dominant in yet another military arena and prove their capabilities as a country (Shah). This would only result in more violence taking place through the usage of outer space or even actual wars in outer space, which is why the agenda focuses on solely utilizing the benefits of space for peaceful purposes favorable to all of humankind. Weaponization of Outer Space Differing from the militarization of outer space, the weaponization of outer space signifies the actual installation of weapons in space. Like the previous term, the weaponization of space would only generate a greater amount of hostility between nations on bad terms and possibly result in violence, which would not assist in maintaining peace between international bodies. Arms Race An arms race is a “pattern of competitive acquisition of military capability between two or more countries” (Perlo-Freeman). Simply put, it is a race between nations to develop military potential in order to gain superiority over the opposing party. Negative impacts of arms races include heightened hostility between nations and a wasteful allocation of government resources and funds, a high contributor to national debt. The Soviet Union and the United States of America partook in an outer space arms race, which resulted in antipathy between the two countries and left lasting economic impacts on both participating parties. Space Race The Space Race was the race between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War to determine which nation would be able to achieve spaceflight first. Its origins were rooted in the nuclear arms race between the two countries following World War II. Successfully beating the opposing state would indicate that the nation had a superior political system and more advanced scientific developments. The Space Race is mainly what sparked the non-peaceful uses of outer space, the reason why governments today must be mindful of both the positive and negative implications of space travel. Military Satellite A military satellite is an artificial satellite used for military purposes such as “communication, navigation, geodesy, nuclear test detection, surveillance, and research and technology” (military satellite). This is an example of the militarization of outer space, which is a way to engage in non-peaceful relations with other parties. Space Technology Space technology, defined as the “application of science and engineering to the exploration and utilization of outer space,” (Space-technology). is constantly developing. Despite all of the negative aspects of space travel, space technology can be used for good, such as learning more about the unknown and making life down on Earth more efficient. The committee’s agenda not only promotes peace in space, but also the exploration of space itself. Therefore, through the creation of new space technologies, peaceful space exploration should be a desirable field to pursue. Outer Space Treaty The Outer Space Treaty is the most widely regarded treaty for detailing international space law. It outlines that the use of outer space should be a beneficial interest for all countries, it should be free for exploration, it cannot fall under claim of any nation, nuclear weapons are not permitted in space, etc (United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs). However, the treaty still contains some loopholes, such as only limiting the weaponization of outer space if it has to do with nuclear weapons, or only prohibiting nations from laying claims to space rather than any organization. 3. Timeline of Key Events 1947-26 December 1991 - The Cold War The Cold War was a political rivalry between the Soviet Union and the United States of America that persisted throughout most of the latter half of the 1900s.