Topic: What is the potential for space weaponization over the next 5-10 years, what countries or non-state actors will be players, and how will this impact international politics?

In the next five to ten years, the movement of mankind and its technology into the realm outside of our atmosphere will only grow and grow at an increasing rate. New developments from private companies and state-funded agencies continue to make space more accessible and more appealing to those that have the technology to utilize that dominion, whether it be for weaponization or to advance capabilities already present in orbit. The current approach to managing space assets is not prepared for the amount of activity that will likely be seen so soon in our future …show more content…
Developed militaries rely heavily on space assets leaving the US with arguably the most to lose from offensive action such as anti-satellite(ASAT) rockets. Being overly aggressive will turn states against the US and its desire to employ space assets in either an offensive or defensive capacity. On the other hand, being too passive will prevent the US from taking the lead in setting the norms and holding more power. Allowing a country like China to become the leader in space capabilities poses a serious threat to the US and all of its allies, something other states must realize before it is too late. Ideally, the US will assert itself into the space weapon realm with little issue and before another country takes the opportunity to establish new norms for …show more content…
The US has three goals regarding space weaponization according to foreign policy statements. They are the protection of US space assets, ballistic missile defense(BMD), and space control with force projection. There are several indicators suggesting the US will keep pushing for space-based weapons. The most obvious is the development and desire for BMD but more importantly is their withdrawal from the anti-ballistic missile treaty(Blazejewski 42). The reason for slow progress on a full BMD network is the threat it would have in Chinese and Russian relations with the US likely resulting in a military build-up response. Despite the deliberate pace, there are strong arguments for the control of the “ultimate military high ground”(Mueller 11). Most of the argument would boil down to the incredible power space-based weapons have and their ability to be anywhere around the planet, presenting incredible force projecting potential and deterrent to conflict. Because of the US’ ability to deploy space assets, it is only natural for them to continue that ability to include the offensive platforms that they have been after since the Cold