Posted on: Sunday, August 5, 2001

Editorial
Weapons in space: Let's not be in a hurry

The U.S. military will feel called upon, sooner rather than later, to place both offensive and defensive weapons in orbit, according to the Air Force's top general.

Gen. Michael Ryan, Air Force chief of staff, says the need will come from growing U.S. dependence on communications, surveillance and navigation satellites in space. He favors developing anti-satellite weapons.

Of course, the Western economy is dependent to a growing extent on satellite communications. But perhaps the more crucial aspect of U.S. assets in orbit will soon be the satellites that form the warning segment of the new national missile defense schemes. If an enemy can disable our surveillance, then it can launch offensive missiles that wouldn't be intercepted.

The United States has already done a lot of developmental work on anti-satellite weapons; they just haven't been deployed. That's a good way to leave it for the time being.

If someone else puts a military weapon in space, we should be ready. But by putting them up there before anyone else, we take responsibility for any arms race in space that may follow.

There were a lot of naive sentiments voiced back in the 1970s about how space should be kept weapons-free. But that doesn't make the negotiation of such a regime impossible. We owe it to the world to try, and to keep our weapons on the ground for now.