Report - The role of space power in

1 .1 S tructure T o explain the role of s pace in g eopolitical c ompetition, t his R eport fi rst oers a perspective on t he strategic role a nd importance of space in the c ivil and military s pheres of human activity. [...] Space weaponisation is thus a matter of policy and legal i nterpretation – a s it c an contravene some o f the provisions of t he Outer Space T reaty, most directly t hose related to weapons of m ass destruction – a nd it remains the subject of d ebate in b oth academic a nd government c ircles. [...] For a long time this has been somewhat o f a ‘backwater’ of i nternational d iplomacy b ut t he c ombination of a growth o f the global space economy together w ith the aggravation of safety concerns in regards to the space o perational environment – d ue to debris and t he increase in satellite numbers – has brought n ew u rgency to space diplomacy. [...] In these respects, as well as in the level of national ambition and strategic prioritisation of the space domain, India’s approach is similar to that of the PRC – and driven by a similar reading of the increasing i ntertwining of space and geopolitics. [...] A s Kai-Uwe Schrogl, an Adviser to the European Space A gency (ESA), has noted: ‘ Europeans are f ar away b ehind the PRC i n human space fl ight and the m oon e xploration, [but] w e still have a b ig lead in E arth observation and in n avigation.’ 35 European countries have resisted t he concept of s pace power, and d o not h ave t he ambition t o establish themselves as global space powers.