Why the final frontier should not become the final battleground
Space can be an inspiring frontier—if we let it.
DIGITAL MAGAZINE
January 2022
DIGITAL MAGAZINE
January 2022
Cover by Thomas Gaulkin
(illustrations via EFF Photos, ESA, Wikimedia, Vectorstock)
Why the final frontier should not become the final battleground
Space can be an inspiring frontier—if we let it.
Interview: Rob Latiff on the worsening international security situation in space
The international security situation is worsening, as countries jockey for both military and private-sector advantage in space. A retired US Air Force major general—who is also a member the Bulletins’ Science and Security Board—explains why.
The complicating role of the private sector in space
The rise of commercial actors in space will come at the cost of decline of the role of nation-states in that domain. This disruption will bring instability and ripple effects, that will upset the existing governance structure—and demonstrate the slipping rank of Russia as a space superpower.
A China-US war in space: The after-action report
Results of a recent three-move space war game—conducted with the assistance of current and former senior State Department, NASA, intelligence, space industry, and Defense Department officials—suggest that space combat is unlikely to be waged only between dedicated military systems. Instead, many of the ground- and space-based threats the US and its allies face—including laser satellite trackers, commercial space surveillance systems, space debris-removing satellites, and refueling spacecraft—will have legitimate civilian uses but can be flipped to conduct military missions against critical, targeted satellites.
Cis-lunar space and the security dilemma
We can still develop the moon and the region around it, but as we have learned from decades of activity in Earth orbit, developing space in a sustainable way requires foresight, planning, and cooperation. Space must be recognized as an environment that is worth preserving, and as one in which fast-paced alterations can have unintended consequences.
Space Force: Fact or fiction?
While Space Force is often associated with former President Donald Trump and is the butt of many jokes, the idea of a space force spawns from a decades-old bipartisan vision. From mundane concerns like managing acquisitions to broader questions such as figuring out acceptable forms of combat in space, Space Force faces many challenges ahead.
Machine learning improves satellite imagery analysis of North Korean nuclear activity
Much of the available data on nuclear activities in North Korea comes from earth observation satellites. But there's a drawback: with increased coverage and higher resolution, analysts face challenges in systematically analyzing image datasets on a large scale. In this case study, we tested automated analysis of over 800 satellite images that tracked vehicular traffic—as well as international trade—at border crossings between China and North Korea.
Nuclear Notebook: Israeli nuclear weapons, 2022
This issue of the Nuclear Notebook examines Israel’s nuclear arsenal, which we estimate includes a stockpile of roughly 90 warheads. Israel neither officially confirms nor denies that it possesses nuclear weapons, and our estimate is therefore largely based on calculations of Israel’s stockpile of weapon-grade plutonium and its inventory of operational nuclear-capable delivery systems.
Interview: Rob Latiff on the worsening international security situation in space
The international security situation is worsening, as countries jockey for both military and private-sector advantage in space. A retired US Air Force major general—who is also a member the Bulletins’ Science and Security Board—explains why.
The complicating role of the private sector in space
The rise of commercial actors in space will come at the cost of decline of the role of nation-states in that domain. This disruption will bring instability and ripple effects, that will upset the existing governance structure—and demonstrate the slipping rank of Russia as a space superpower.
A China-US war in space: The after-action report
Results of a recent three-move space war game—conducted with the assistance of current and former senior State Department, NASA, intelligence, space industry, and Defense Department officials—suggest that space combat is unlikely to be waged only between dedicated military systems. Instead, many of the ground- and space-based threats the US and its allies face—including laser satellite trackers, commercial space surveillance systems, space debris-removing satellites, and refueling spacecraft—will have legitimate civilian uses but can be flipped to conduct military missions against critical, targeted satellites.
Cis-lunar space and the security dilemma
We can still develop the moon and the region around it, but as we have learned from decades of activity in Earth orbit, developing space in a sustainable way requires foresight, planning, and cooperation. Space must be recognized as an environment that is worth preserving, and as one in which fast-paced alterations can have unintended consequences.
Space Force: Fact or fiction?
While Space Force is often associated with former President Donald Trump and is the butt of many jokes, the idea of a space force spawns from a decades-old bipartisan vision. From mundane concerns like managing acquisitions to broader questions such as figuring out acceptable forms of combat in space, Space Force faces many challenges ahead.
Machine learning improves satellite imagery analysis of North Korean nuclear activity
Much of the available data on nuclear activities in North Korea comes from earth observation satellites. But there's a drawback: with increased coverage and higher resolution, analysts face challenges in systematically analyzing image datasets on a large scale. In this case study, we tested automated analysis of over 800 satellite images that tracked vehicular traffic—as well as international trade—at border crossings between China and North Korea.
Nuclear Notebook: Israeli nuclear weapons, 2022
This issue of the Nuclear Notebook examines Israel’s nuclear arsenal, which we estimate includes a stockpile of roughly 90 warheads. Israel neither officially confirms nor denies that it possesses nuclear weapons, and our estimate is therefore largely based on calculations of Israel’s stockpile of weapon-grade plutonium and its inventory of operational nuclear-capable delivery systems.
Cover by Thomas Gaulkin
(illustrations via EFF Photos, ESA, Wikimedia, Vectorstock)
Subscribe now
We've relaunched the Bulletin's award-winning digital magazine. Get premium access for less than $5 a month.
Magazine archive
Premium subscribers can read the complete Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists’ archive, which contains every article published since our founding in 1945.
This archive was created in honor of John A. Simpson, one of the Bulletin’s principal founders and a longtime member of its Board of Sponsors. This searchable archive provides exclusive online access to original interviews and commentary by luminaries like Albert Einstein, J. Robert Oppenheimer, Ruth Adams, John F. Kennedy, Stephen Hawking, Christine Todd Whitman, US Secretary of Defense William J. Perry, and multiple Nobel laureates.
.jpg){kind=link}