Eisenhower Institute's Future of Space Project
Currently there are only a few international treaties that regulate the military uses of space. With the obsolescence of the ABM Treaty, however, none of these actually prohibit conventional weaponization or the use of lasers and other dual-use technologies for military ends. The US administration's decision to withdraw from the 30 year old ABM Treaty has thus removed one of the few legal foundations upon which previous norms governing the use of space had been based, while at the same time these preexisting norms are being strained by our increasing demand for the advantages that space can provide and by our growing capability to achieve them. As the rapid growth in the number of commercial and military space users continues, the need for a new consensus is greater than ever.
The goal of The Eisenhower Institute's "Future of Space" project is to find a clear definition of the legal status of space, facilitate a consensus on the acceptable extent of military operations there, and draft a legal framework to manage its future use. We have begun a dialogue between a multinational group of esteemed space scientists and a broad range of stakeholders, including representatives from industry and the US military, as well as various other international constituencies. By bringing these groups together, we are attempting to paint a comprehensive picture of the many dimensions of space use and to codify this vision into an enduring regulatory framework that is in line with contemporary realities and future technological and political contingencies.
This is an extract of the project's Executive Summary. For more details, contact Ryan McFarland, Future of Space Project Manager of the Eisenhower Institute at rmcfarland@eisenhowerinstitute.org.
