On October 4, 1957, the successful launch and orbiting of Sputnik 1 inaugurated the Space Age. Since then, mankind has had a stop and start relationship with outer space. We’ve accomplished a great deal, but it’s been expensive and risky.
The next stage of our expansion into the Solar System may be made a lot easier if space elevators can be built. No less a visionary than Sir Arthur C. Clarke has endorsed the concept. Brad Edwards, a leading space scientist, is actively promoting the effort, and a company called the Liftport Group has published preliminary plans [PDF] to design and build the first space elevator.
But—as humans expand into space, will we take our warlike legacy with us? Last year, we wrote about the disquieting possibility of a space weapons race. Now, we have a new policy document that lays out the current U.S. administration’s views on “defense and intelligence-related activities in pursuit of national interests.”
The Presidential Directive on National Space Policy says that the United States will:
- [P]reserve its rights, capabilities, and freedom of action in space; dissuade or deter others from either impeding those rights or developing capabilities intended to do so; take those actions necessary to protect its space capabilities; respond to interference; and deny, if necessary, adversaries the use of space capabilities hostile to U.S. national interests; oppose the development of new legal regimes or other restrictions that seek to prohibit or limit U.S. access to or use of space.
The Directive goes on to say:
- Proposed arms control agreements or restrictions must not impair the rights of the United States to conduct research, development, testing, and operations or other activities in space for U.S. national interests.
There is a lot more in the document, and we encourage you to read the whole thing.
Mike Treder is a fellow of the IEET, and the Executive Director of the non-profit
Center for Responsible Nanotechnology, an organization working to raise awareness of the issues presented by advanced nanotechnology.
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