If it goes to NATO, space could become a theater of war in the future. At the fall meeting of foreign ministers on Wednesday in Brussels, the All is to land, air, sea and cyberspace to be made the fifth area of the Alliance - the SPIEGEL had reported on Friday. The resolution is expected to be finalized at the Summit of Heads of State and Government in London in two weeks time.
The plans of NATO defense ministers had already emerged in June, when a space strategy was adopted for the first time. It envisages maintaining the technological lead of the NATO states ahead of other countries such as China and protecting the infrastructure in orbit.
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Because in space are among the currently about 2000 active satellites many who take on important military tasks. They are indispensable for communication during missions, navigation, or as early warning systems for rocket launches. In addition, they provide situational pictures from conflict areas. Accordingly, in conflict situations, satellites are likely to become the target of hostile attacks, which could also affect civilian life: digital payment systems or communications in the transport sector would be adversely affected. That is why NATO wants to protect important technology more strongly in the future.
NATO officials have been warning for some time that China and Russia have successfully tested satellites destruction capabilities. The US destroyed in a test in 1985 with a rocket, which was fired by a fighter jet, the US research satellite "Solwind P78-1".
China also demonstrated in 2007 that it can destroy satellites from the ground with missiles. In March, India showed comparable capabilities with Mission Shakti. At that time a three-stage interceptor type PDV Mk II shot down its own military satellite. Protection against such attacks is currently hardly possible, a corresponding technique has not yet been tested.
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Officially, since July, France has taken its own approach within NATO. At that time, the nation announced the creation of a space command. The country wants to protect its satellites "actively" in future, said President Emmanuel Macron. Defense Minister Florence Parly announced the development of laser weapons. "When our satellites are threatened, we want to dazzle our opponents' satellites," she said. According to information from French government circles, a type of machine gun is also being considered to eliminate attacking satellites. Both weapon systems are to be mounted on miniature satellites that patrol in orbit.
Nevertheless, in-space laser battles, as known from science fiction films, are unlikely in the near future. Because space attack weapons does not want to use NATO. "Our approach is completely defensive," says Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. "NATO does not intend to bring weapons into space." In fact, the Alliance has not even had its own satellites since the beginning of the millennium. NATO only uses technology from the member states. For example, in 2009 the Bundeswehr shot "COMSATBw" into space, its first communications satellite of its own. Among other things, it made it possible to make secure telephone calls worldwide. Soon, the private space company SpaceX for the German Armed Forces to bring the "SARah" spy satellites into space.
So far, the strategy of NATO corresponds to the 1967 Space Treaty. It provides that the exploration of space should be peaceful. The USA, Russia, China and France have also signed. Article 4 expressly prohibits the stationing of "nuclear weapons or any type of weapons of mass destruction". Military bases, fortifications, weapons tests or military exercises are also prohibited on the moon and other celestial bodies. Conventional weapons based on satellites or spaceships are not covered.
Alliance case of attacks in space
A pioneer in space weapons is the United States. US President Donald Trump presented a new missile defense strategy in January. Its core elements include space-based weapon systems against ultra-fast supersonic rockets developed by Russia and China. Just a few months ago, Trump also announced a military space command. The "US Space Force" is to be built by 2020 as the sixth US military force. The force is to bundle all space activities of the US military and support with satellite and defense weapons operations on Earth.
Whether in the case of attacks in space the new NATO strategy triggers the alliance case is still unclear. It is governed by Article Five of the NATO Treaty and stipulates that NATO partners will assist in the event of an armed attack "against one or more of them in Europe or North America". According to the wording, the destruction of a satellite in space would not be included.
However, the NATO Treaty has remained virtually unchanged since 1949 and has not been adapted to today's weapons technologies. Secretary General Stoltenberg responded on Tuesday to the question of an alliance evasive: About military assistance, the NATO decide "from case to case," he said. "And we do not want to give potential opponents the advantage of clarifying what the threshold for triggering Article Five is."