President George Bush isexpected to issue a directive in the next few weeks giving the US airforce a green light for the development of space weapons, potentiallytriggering a new global arms race, it was reported yesterday. The new weapons beingstudied range from hunter-killer satellites to orbiting weapons usinglasers, radio waves, or even dense metal tubes dropped from space bya weapon known as "Rods from God" on ground targets.
The national security directive on space has beensought by the air force since last year. The New York Times yesterdayquoted a senior administration official as saying a decision isexpected within weeks. Neither the air force nor the White Housereturned calls seeking comment.
The directive will replace a 1996 directive signedby Bill Clinton which was vaguely worded but which emphasisedthepeaceful use of space, in line with almost unanimous globalopinion. Plans for potential space weapons were vetoed by the ClintonWhite House.
Space warfare experts said they expected the Bushadministration directive to be similarly vague but also to signal ashift in attitude towards exploring ways of affirming US dominance inspace militarily.
"Up to now, this has been a campaign by the airforce to have the freedom to do what they want to do in space," saidTheresa Hitchens, vice-president of the Centre for DefenceInformation. "This will, for the first time in US history, will givethem the go-ahead."
Ms Hitchens argued the directive would trigger anarms race in space. "Let's think of a world where US has 'deathstars' you think other countries are going to accept that?" she said.
The new push to develop space weapons comes as theearth-based missile defence system, intended to hit an incomingmissile with another missile and which was heavily promoted by theBush administration, has been set back by technical problems andfailed tests. The air force's intentions were spelt out lastSeptember by General Lance Lord, head of its space command, who saidsatellites had given US military power a decisive advantage withtheir spying, communications and targeting capacities. That advantagehad to be maintained by "space superiority".
"It can be our destiny if we work it hard andcontinue to aggressively follow that," he said.
The potential weapons fall into two maincategories as defined by a 2002 Pentagon planning document: "spacecontrol" or anti-satellite warfare, and "space force application" orattacking the ground from orbit. The air force claims that it candesign military satellites that could protect US military andcivilian satellites already in orbit. However, most space expertsargue that the satellites are aimed at destroying other country'ssatellites.
"Space force application" weapons include theglobal strike programme, which envisages a space plane armed withhalf a ton of munitions. The "Rods from God" scheme would aimtungsten, titanium or uranium cylinders at targets on the ground froma position in low earth orbit. By the time they hit the earth theywould be travelling at around 7,500 mph , with the impact of a smallnuclear warhead.
Another option would use mirrors to focus anintense laser beam onto terrestrial targets, referred to as a "deathstar" by its critics. But according to one estimate a space-basedlaser would cost $100 million per target. "It's an enormouslyexpensive way of hitting the ground," said Laura Grego, a spaceweapons expert at the Union of Concerned Scientists. She said the"space control" satellites were more likely to be deployed, but eventhey could trigger an arms race.
"We're legitimising the idea of attacking otherpeople's satellites and we have the most to lose. This technology isdiffusing rapidly," Ms Grego said. "To be the masters of space you'dhave to not allow anyone else to launch into space. But you can'tblow up everyone's launch pads."
Copyright 2005 The Guardian, Great Britain