Despite the long-term desire of the international community to explore and use outer space for peaceful purposes, space systems have been employed for military purposes since the dawn of the space era. As the role of these systems in military operations during armed conflicts increases, so too does the likelihood of their being targeted, with significant risk of harm to civilians and civilian objects on earth and in space. This is because technology enabled by space systems permeates most aspects of civilian life, making the potential consequences of attacks on space systems a matter of humanitarian concern.
In this post, ICRC Legal Adviser Wen Zhou launches a new series on war, law, and outer space, laying out the potential human cost on civilians of military space operations during armed conflicts, outlining the existing rules regulating and restricting such operations under international law – in particular, international humanitarian law (IHL) – and introducing recommended measures to minimize the risk of civilian harm posed by threats to space systems.
The military application of technology-enabled by space systems is an integral part of modern-day military operations. To date, armed forces have used space systems in a range of applications, such as: satellite systems for the navigation of military aircraft, precision targeting and weapon systems; telecommunication satellites for global command and control; and remote sensors and other space-based monitoring systems for advance warnings of missile attacks, surveillance, and reconnaissance.
Outer space is becoming increasingly contested as major powers view space as an “operational domain”, put in place dedicated space defense strategies and commands, and take steps to further militarize outer space. A growing number of states are engaged in the development, testing, and deployment of kinetic or non-kinetic “counterspace” capabilities. Current and future threats to space systems include electronic warfare, cyber operations, directed energy operations, and the use of orbit-based and ground-based anti-satellite weapons or other counter-space military capabilities, such as harmful in-orbit rendezvous and proximity operations.
While some space systems are exclusively dedicated to military purposes, many carry out both civilian and military functions and are hence of a “dual-use” nature. This is partly because of the dramatic increase in the launches of new, cheaper, and smaller commercial satellites in recent years, which has hugely expanded their capabilities. With this, the dependency on space systems of essential civilian services is also rapidly increasing.
