US adopts tough new space policy
The document outlines US military and commercial ambitions in
space
The US has adopted a tough new policy aimed at protecting its
interests in space and denying "adversaries" access there for
hostile purposes.
The document - signed by President Bush - also says "freedom of
action in space is as important to the United States as air power
and sea power".
The document rejects any proposals to ban space weapons.
But the White House has said the policy does not call for the
development or deployment of weapons in space.
The United States will preserve its rights, capabilities, and
freedom of action in space... and deny, if necessary, adversaries
the use of space capabilities hostile to US national
interests
US National Space Policy in full (44K)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/18_10_06_usspace.pdf
However, some military experts warn that by refusing to enter into
negotiations on space weaponry, the US is likely to fuel
international suspicions that it will develop such weapons.
The 10-page strategic document states that the US national security
"is critically dependent upon space capabilities, and this
dependence will grow".
"The United States will preserve its rights, capabilities, and
freedom of action in space... and deny, if necessary, adversaries
the use of space capabilities hostile to US national interests," it
says.
Satellite fears
The document also sets out US commercial ambitions, saying it is
committed to encouraging and facilitating a growing entrepreneurial
space sector.
The Bush administration says there is no shift in its policy
It is the first revision in US space policy for 10 years, and it is
a forthright one, the BBC's Nick Miles in Washington says.
It addresses concerns voiced in a 2001 Pentagon report that said
technological advances would enable potential enemies to disrupt
orbiting US satellites, our correspondent says.
Unclassified details of the policy published on the internet say
space capabilities, including spy and other communication
satellites, are essential for national security.
But the White House said the policy was not a prelude to putting
weapons in orbit and that there was no shift in US policy.
"The notion that you would do defence from space is different from
that of weaponisation of space. We're comfortable with the policy",
White House spokesman Tony Snow said.
President Bush authorised the policy in August but it was not
released until October.
During the Cold War, President Ronald Reagan proposed a defence
shield using laser or particle beam technology to "intercept and
destroy" incoming nuclear missiles.
The Strategic Defence Initiative, or "Star Wars" programme as it
came to be known, was abandoned in 1993.
