A senior State Department official said in Beijing this week the United States will oppose a formal treaty banning weapons in space, as both China and Russia recently conducted flight tests of satellite-killing missiles.
Frank Rose, assistant secretary for arms control, verification and compliance, called for arms control in space during a speech at the ASEAN Regional Forum workshop on space security in Beijing Monday, but said the Obama administration will oppose a 2008 Russian and Chinese proposal to ban all weapons in space.
"The most pressing and existing threat to outer space systems is actually terrestrially based anti-satellite weapons, which exist, have been tested and have already damaged the space environment," Mr. Rose said. "The continued development of such weapons, and their potential use in a conflict, should be of grave concern to all governments. Due to high-impact speed in space, even sub-millimeter debris poses a realistic threat to human spaceflight and robotic missions."
Read the entire article at the Washington Times.
