CENTRE FOR AIR POWER STUDIES

This test and the debris thus created garnered plenty of international concern and the question around the declining sustainability of Space resurfaced.8 The test put into question the human-made objects in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) along with China’s Tiangong Space Station and International Space Station. [...] There are other treaties like the Liability Convention 1972 and the Registration Convention 1976 that aim at addressing the issues of Outer Space.10 There has been a constant demand to have a new outer space treaty which can actively address emerging trends like the weaponisation of space, an unprecedented spike in the number of satellites, active involvement of the private sector, resource exploi. [...] The last development in this regard was the UN guidelines and framework agreed upon in 2022 on the issues of long-term sustainability of outer space activities and nuclear power safety along with mitigation of space debris, transparency and confidence building measures (CBM) in outer space.11 The recommendation for the new treaty includes a legal framework and jurisdiction for environmental pollut. [...] This increases India’s capabilities in the face of a war and reserves a seat for India in the international conversations on ASATs. [...] 9 “Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies,” United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, The Outer Space Treaty (unoosa.org).