WASHINGTON — The United Nations Basic Meeting permitted a decision calling for a halt to 1 sort of anti-satellite (ASAT) testing, a largely symbolic transfer supposed to assist broader area sustainability initiatives.
The decision, launched by the US and a number of other different nations, was permitted by the U.N. Basic Meeting Dec. 7 amongst dozens of different resolutions on arms management and associated matters with little dialogue or debate. A complete of 155 nations voted in favor of the decision, with 9 voting in opposition to it and 9 others abstaining.
The decision calls on international locations to halt harmful testing of direct-ascent ASAT weapons, citing concern that such creates massive quantities of particles that threaten the protection of different satellites. An instance is the November 2021 ASAT check by Russia that destroyed the Cosmos 1408 satellite tv for pc, creating practically 1,800 tracked items of particles and certain many extra objects too small to be tracked. About a third of the tracked debris from that test was still in orbit practically a 12 months later.
The decision is non-binding within the sense that it doesn’t require international locations to halt such checks, as an alternative calling upon states to chorus from conducting checks. It states that it considers such a dedication to chorus from checks “an pressing, preliminary measure geared toward stopping injury to the outer area atmosphere, whereas additionally contributing to the event of additional measures for the prevention of an arms race in outer area.” It additionally helps continued efforts to develop “additional sensible steps” to cut back dangers in outer area.
The Basic Meeting vote was practically an identical to 1 by the U.N.’s First Committee, which offers with disarmament and worldwide safety matters. It voted 154-8 in favor of the decision Nov. 1, with 10 international locations abstaining.
The eight international locations that voted in opposition to the decision within the First Committee — Belarus, Bolivia, China, Cuba, Iran, Nicaragua, Russia and Syria — additionally voted in opposition to the decision within the Basic Meeting. They have been joined by the Central African Republic, which voted in favor of the decision within the First Committee however in opposition to it within the Basic Meeting for unknown causes. India was among the many international locations that abstained from the vote, each within the First Committee and on the Basic Meeting.
Vice President Kamala Harris, who introduced in April that the US would chorus from harmful direct-ascent ASAT checks and referred to as on others to do the identical, welcomed the U.N. vote. “Again in April, I introduced the US is not going to conduct harmful direct-ascent anti-satellite missile checks, and I referred to as on different nations to affix us. Right this moment, 155 international locations voted in favor of a UN decision, serving to set up this as a global norm for area,” she tweeted after the vote.
For the reason that announcement by Harris in April, 9 different international locations have introduced their very own pledges to not conduct such checks, most recently France on Nov. 29. Not one of the international locations had energetic direct-ascent ASAT testing applications.
The decision is one in every of a number of efforts to advertise secure and sustainable area actions. A parallel effort, kicked off by one other U.N. decision a 12 months in the past, established an Open-Ended Working Group to debate methods of lowering area threats. That working group has met twice, with two extra conferences scheduled for 2023 earlier than providing its conclusions for future actions.
A separate effort, the Artemis Accords, seeks to advertise secure and sustainable actions in area exploration. Whereas not dealing instantly with points like ASAT testing, the Accords name on international locations to restrict the technology of orbital particles, whereas calling on transparency in area actions and affirming using area for peaceable functions.
“We and the opposite unique signatories of the Artemis Accords got here collectively to consider that subsequent period of area exploration and be sure that it was being carried out in accordance with the basic rules of accountable habits,” Pam Melroy, NASA deputy administrator, stated in a chat Dec. 12 at a Safe World Basis occasion in regards to the Accords.
The USA and 7 different nations have been unique signatories of the Artemis Accords in October 2020. Twenty-one nations have now signed the Accords, and Melroy stated in her remarks she anticipated extra nations to affix within the close to future.
