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The United States Should not Weaponize Outer Space

The United States Should not Weaponize Outer Space

The risks of weaponizing space for United States national security far outweigh any gains. There are no credible spacepower threats to U.S. space hegemony in the near-term and any deployment or testing of space weapons would risk many of the advantages the U.S. currently enjoys.


Threat Against U.S. Space Assets is Insignificant
There is no credible threat to U.S. space assets from either rogue state adversaries or terrorist groups.

Space Weaponization is not Inevitable
There is no reason to believe that the weaponization of space is inevitable.

U.S. Space Assets are not Vital
Space is not a critical center of gravity because many of the functions currently performed by existing space assets could be performed by ground-based or near-space technologies.

Foreign Space Assets do not Threaten U.S.
There is no significant or credible threat from foreign space assets to U.S. security.

U.S. Weaponization of Space would be Disadvantageous
If the U.S. weaponizes outer space, it will damage its economy, its security, and its standing in the international community.

Should Pursue Space Arms Control
The international spacefaring community would benefit from a new agreement to regulate the development and deployment of space weapons.

U.S. Weaponization of Space would not be Advantageous
The weaponization of space would not realize all of the advantages that proponents claim.