With Bidenâs Backing, Space Force Threatens to Accelerate the Arms Race
The official flag of the United States Space Force is presented in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., on May 15, 2020.
Samuel Corum-Pool / Getty Images
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Republicansâ recent loss of control over the federal government means itâs fake outrage season in Washington, D.C. Last week, conservative lawmakers marked the occasion by lambasting White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki for allegedly failing to show sufficient reverence for the Space Force, the new branch of the U.S. Armed Forces established in 2019 under the administration of Donald Trump to assert U.S. military dominance in outer space.
December 16, 2020 U.S. Space Command head Gen James Dickinson called out perceived Russian aggression in Space Dec. 16, following another Russian anti-satellite weapon test. (Lewis Carlyle / Department of Defense) WASHINGTON Russia conducted its second test this year of a direct ascent anti-satellite missile test, according to a U.S. Space Command, yet again drawing sharp criticism from the U.S. “Russia has made space a war-fighting domain by testing space-based and ground-based weapons intended to target and destroy satellites. This fact is inconsistent with Moscow’s public claims that Russia seeks to prevent conflict in space,” said Space Command head Gen. James Dickinson in a statement. “Space is critical to all nations. It is a shared interest to create the conditions for a safe, stable and operationally sustainable space environment.”
Artemis Accords: A Step Toward International Cooperation or Further Competition?
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine gives remarks on the agency’s Artemis program (NASA HQ, https://flic.kr/p/2hXcxV6; CC BY-NC-ND 2.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/).
On Oct. 13, the Artemis Accords Principles for a Safe, Peaceful, and Prosperous Future, commonly referred to as the Artemis Accords, were signed by their eight founding member states: Australia, Canada, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States. More recently, on Nov. 13, Ukraine joined as the ninth signatory. The unveiling of the accords a series of agreements that provide a framework to maintain peace in outer space and govern behavior on the moon has caused much excitement in the international community. But while they were drafted to serve as a tool for international cooperation, in the eyes of some space law and policy experts the accords could have the opposit