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1 1 (August 10, 2021)

handle is hein.crs/goveegx0001 and id is 1 raw text is: ressiuned Aesearch Service [at rwdnu y~kI4ni*e 1rt~d~ rg~ i&t~ August 10,2021 Space as a Warfighting Domain: Issues for Congress Introduction The United States is in the midst of making significant changes to policy onprotecting national security pertaining to outer space. Military strategists increasingly consider space to be a warfighting domain-alocation where offensive and defensive military operations take place- similar to air, land, and sea. During the Cold War, both the U.S. and the Soviet Union approached space as a sanctuary and a non-warfighting domain. However, many states and international entities, including the Department ofDefense and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), now declare space a warfighting domain. Many countries rely on the capabilities that civilian and military space systems provide. Many governments have agreed in principle that space should remain a domain used for peaceful purposes and for the benefit of allhumankind. Various treaties and agreements are the mechanisms in place to promote the principle of space as a peaceful domain, but these do notprevent nations fromhaving or conducting counterspace operations. Space Threats Militaries around the world are preparing for future wars with assets located in space and developing counterspace technologies.Accordingto the 2020U.S. Defense Space Strategy, China and Russia have weaponized space as a means to reduce U.S. and allied partners' freedomof operationin space. Likewise, that document claims that Chinahas tested andprovencounterspacecapabilities that threaten U.S. and allied partners' satellites andnational security. The militarization of space as an issue dates back to the late 1950s, when the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1, the first manmade object placed into the Earth's orbit. In 1958, the United States launched its first satellite, Explorer 1. This was the beginning of a new competition and space arms race between two great powers. Through the evolution of technological advancements, the accessibility to reach and use space has increased for a growing number of governments and nonstate actors. Many U.S. defense experts describe space as the ultimate military high ground, with particular importance to communications, intelligence, and missile-warning surveillance operations. Adversaries such as China and Russia have studied warfighting concepts and focused on space systems as aparticularU.S. vulnerability. China and Russia are reported tobe pursuing nondestructive and destructive counterspace weaponcapabilities, such as jammers, lasers, kinetic-kill or anti-s atellite (ASAT) systems, and cyber-attackcapabilities. U.S. military officials have statedthat U.S. satellites no longerenjoy sanctuary in space, and that U.S. military space superiority can no longer be taken for granted. China and Rus sia are developing and testing multiple counterspace technologies that potentially threaten U.S. and allied partners' space assets. Counterspace systems include kinetic physical, nonkinetic physical, electronic, and cyber. Kineticphysical includes direct ascent weapons (i.e. missiles) that attempt to strike a satellite and co-orbital which is first placed into orbit (i.e. satellites), then once commanded it maneuvers and strikes its target. Nonkinetic physical can include lasers, high-powered microwave weapons, and nuclear weapons detonated in space that create an electromagnetic pulse. Electronic targets the means through which space systems transmit and receive data by jamming or spoofing radio frequency (RF) signals. Cyber targets the dataitself. Part of the U.S. military response in defending against these capabilities is the National Space Defense Center (NSDC) at Schriever AFB, Colorado. The NSDCis a joint and interagency effort between the Department of Defense, the Intelligence Community, and commercial industry to research U.S. space vulnerabilities and develop tactics and doctrine to deal with potential attacks on sp ace s ystems. Space Command vs. Space Force Which military organization commands during a space conflict if a U.S. or allied partner's satellite is attacked? Accordingto the DepartmentofDefense, theU.S. Space Command is responsible for conducting operations in, from, and to space in order to deter conflict and, if necessary, defeat aggression, and defend U.S. vital interests. Conversely, theU.S. Space Force is responsible for organizing, training, and equipping troops (space guardians) during peacetime in order to present themto the combatant commands (i.e., U.S. Space Command) during a time of space conflict or war. Treaties Aimed at Preventing Conflict in Space Several agreements were introduced in the 1960s and 1970s that attempted to prevent nations fromplacing weapons in space. The United Nations (U.N.) General Assembly adopted a treaty in 1967 that formed the basis of international spacelaw. The Outer Space Treaty, or the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, was originally considered under theLegalSubcommitteein 1966, and agreed upon later that year by the General Assembly. The original signatories were the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America. The treaty went into force in October 1967, and 110 countries have become parties to it. Other treaties and agreements that focus on other aspects of outer space are depicted in Figure 1. https://crs rept

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