Space Wars and Laws
The Briefing Room
BBC
4.8 • 731 Ratings
🗓️ 23 December 2021
⏱️ 30 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Could space be the next frontier for conflict? And what would it look like? Recently the astronauts in the International Space Station had to shelter in their escape pods, after Russia destroyed one of its own satellites using a missile and leaving a dangerous trail of debris orbiting the earth. While not a deliberately aggressive act, the destruction of the satellite was an indication of the kind of weaponry that could be used in space. This summer, on the occasion of the official opening of UK Space Command, the head of the RAF, Air Chief Marshal Sir Mike Wigston, warned that any global conflict would “most likely be won or lost in space.” What is the likelihood of a space war, what form would it take and what are the laws that govern activity in space?
Joining David Aaronovitch in the Briefing Room are:
Dr Bleddyn Bowen, lecturer in International Relations, University of Leicester Michelle Hanlon, Professor of Air and Space Law at the University of Mississippi, United States Alexandra Stickings, Space Strategy Lead at the consultancy Frazer-Nash Shashank Joshi, Defence Editor, The Economist
Producers: John Murphy, Ben Carter and Kirsteen Knight Sound Engineer: Andy Garratt Production Coordinator: Siobhan Reed Editor: Richard Vadon
Image: The International Space Station in orbit Credit: Nasa / EPA
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, radio, podcasts. |
| 0:08.2 | Welcome to the briefing room with me, David Aronovich. |
| 0:11.3 | It's the inner space where you, me, the top experts, and 28 minutes collide to release a greater understanding of one of the big issues. |
| 0:20.5 | And this week, talking of space, are we heading for space wars? |
| 0:27.0 | Space, very much the next frontier. |
| 0:30.9 | This summer, two senior British military commanders |
| 0:33.6 | criticised China and Russia for their reckless behaviour in space in destroying their own satellites with weapons and leaving a dangerous trail of debris. |
| 0:43.3 | The head of the RAF, Air Chief Marshal Sir Mike Wigston, warned that any global conflict would most likely be won or lost in space. |
| 0:53.3 | So what might happen in a space war and how likely is |
| 0:57.5 | conflict up there? Step into the briefing room and together we'll find out. We'll begin by going |
| 1:07.0 | way back in time to the mid-20th century and charting the growing militarization of space. |
| 1:13.6 | Here's the briefing room's Ben Carter. |
| 1:16.6 | Let me take you back more than 60 years to October 1957. |
| 1:22.6 | We've been to orbit of Sputnikn to thenik, the U.S.S.R. performed the world's first satellite launch, |
| 1:36.6 | firing Sputnik 1 into a low Earth orbit, |
| 1:40.0 | where it spent the next three weeks before its batteries ran out |
| 1:43.3 | and it fell back into the |
| 1:44.5 | Earth's atmosphere. It prompted the United Nations General Assembly to debate the issue of |
| 1:49.8 | outer space the following year. Items on the agenda included, |
| 1:54.7 | The Banning of the Use of Cosmic Space for Military Purposes. In 1959, a committee on the peaceful uses of outer space was set up |
| 2:04.0 | and tasked with establishing principles to essentially maintain law and order in space. |
| 2:09.7 | But within a couple of years, the Russians and Americans were both immersed in highly secret |
... |
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