World Space Week: War in space

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 that – so far – remained 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 recognise – it'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.