Space is being used more and more intensively by many countries. How can we make sure that all these countries behave responsibly in space? This can be done with the help of space surveillance and tracking (SST), according to the Space Situational Awareness for Verification report published by the Netherlands Space Office (NSO) this week. The Security Policy Department of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs asked NSO to examine whether and how space situational awareness (SSA) – and more specifically SST – could be used to verify responsible behaviour in space. This study assesses both the technical possibilities and the multilateral feasibility of such an approach.
View news item on the NSO website
Tracking responsible behaviour in outer space
Air traffic around Schiphol Airport is carefully followed by radar systems. In this way, air traffic control knows exactly which plane takes off when, and where arriving planes are. In a similar way, we can use radar and other instruments to create an overview of space: space situational awareness (SSA). Which satellites are orbiting the Earth? And are they all moving as expected?
Most satellite missions are peaceful and make our lives on Earth easier, safer and more efficient. Think of satellites for navigation, communication and Earth observation. But it is not unthinkable that countries will also use space for less peaceful purposes. For example, to position or support weapons, to deliberately create space debris, or to push satellites out of orbit or make them useless. Countries can also be negligent, for example by leaving geostationary satellites uncontrolled after their lifetime, instead of moving them to a so-called graveyard orbit.
All these topics are to be discussed at the UN level during the UNIDIR (United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research) Outer Space Security Conference on 9 and 10 September in Geneva, Switzerland.
Starting the conversation about space security
The NSO uses the UNIDIR conference to present this report as a feasibility study on the use of space surveillance and tracking for the verification of responsible behaviour in outer space. The report describes technical options to monitor activities in space and makes several recommendations. The main one is aimed at the international community: start the conversation about this maybe sensitive, but important topic – and make good agreements, so that we can prevent an arms race in space.
The Netherlands has for some time spoken out in favour of a clear legal framework that all users of space must follow (mission 6 in the Long-Term Space Agenda). Such a framework starts with good agreements about what is and is not allowed in space. After that, instruments based on radar and laser technology can help to verify whether countries are respecting the agreements. The report SSA for Verification shows the possibilities in this area, and the role the Netherlands could play, for the first time in a concrete way.
Report extract: SSA in general, and SST, in particular, have been identified as a possibility to help verification of responsible behaviour in outer space. Improved SSA capabilities would offer a more comprehensive understanding of orbital activity and enhance the safety of space operations, while also supporting security objectives.
Download the report (from the NSO website)
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