Space

Still the Final Frontier?

H. A. G. Longstaff

THE EPIC SERIES STAR TREK DECLARED SPACE “THE FINAL FRONTIER”

But this is no longer true. Space is crowded, busy and contested. Weather satellites spot rain, cyclones and windstorms. Communication satellites transmit data and voice seamlessly across continents. Navigation satellites power your Garmin/apple watch or car GPS. Spy satellites keep us safe. The numbers are enormous, Elon Musk’s Starlink has 5,874 satellites in orbit as of April 2024, as part of around 9,500 active satellites.

All of this is a long way from the Sputnik satellite launched on 4 October 1957 by the Soviet Union. This basketball sized object that only beeped started the space race which ended with Man on the Moon in July 1969. It started the technological arm’s race between the USA and the Soviet Union that ended in November 1989 with the collapse of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Soviet Union.

Space is now a vital strategic territory. Many suggest that any World War III will begin in space as vital GPS satellites central to weapons targeting and intelligence are knocked out.

Space is also a complex operating environment. Unused satellites remain in orbit. In space, objects are travelling at around 28,800 km/h. Millions of micrometeorites, such as paint flecks and solidified droplets of antifreeze (it is very cold, -270 degrees, in space because there is no atmosphere), can damage solar panels and satellites.

But who administers space? Who decides which satellite gets which orbit? Who mandates the clean-up of space junk, or responsible behaviour about when and how to launch?

Generally speaking, no one owns space. Space is governed by the Outer Space Treaty which outlines that “outer space, including the moon and celestial bodies, is not subject to national appropriation by claim of sovereignty, by means of use or occupation, or by any other means.” Generally countries claim important and scarce geostationary orbit rights in the airspace above their country, something most contested around the equator and claimed under the Bogota Declaration. But in reality, ‘might is right’, and there’s not much that can be done to address squatters. The fragile consensus operates a bit like ‘first in best dressed’. This will need to change, but like all geopolitical matters, consensus is fraught.

There is a precedent for this, and a basis for hope. Antarctica has competing territorial claims (including from Australia), yet there is an international consensus that has (largely) held. The Antarctic Treaty was signed in 1959 by 12 original nations (now there are 56), and it came into effect in the mid-1960s. The core concepts, fully embraced, involve both the freedom of scientific research in Antarctica and the peaceful utilisation of the continent. There was also a consensus for demilitarisation and the maintenance of the status quo. The treaty prohibits nuclear testing, military operations, economic exploitation, and territorial claims in Antarctica. It is monitored through on-site inspections. The only permanent structures allowed are scientific research stations.

Something to think about as you look up at the stars and wonder what’s out there.