The dependence of various systems operating on Earth on space infrastructure poses significant security challenges. The author talks about the measures taken by Brazil for the technological and geopolitical exploration of outer space.

(Writer: Rubens Barbosa)

Estadão (Brazil): Oct. 28, 2020 — Most of the devices and systems that make our life on Earth easier, for their daily functioning, require devices located in space. Communications systems, air transport, maritime trade, financial services, climate surveillance and defense depend on space infrastructure, which includes satellites, earth stations and data transmission at regional, national and international levels. This addiction poses significant security challenges for vendor companies and governments, although sometimes these issues are not even recognized.

Based on the understanding of this dependence, they are now beginning to think about new threats, such as attacks on orbiting satellites in order to disrupt the functioning of the systems listed above. The Brazilian authorities should also consider this issue. Despite decades of bad decisions, the Alcantara Launch Center in the state of Maranhao is now finally being used, but this is not easy for the authorities or for Brazilian companies. The fact is that the infrastructure of the entire region and the Launch Center itself needs modernization. Domestic legislation should also be reviewed. There are problems with the space law governing commercial activities in outer space. The work of the body responsible for negotiating with companies interested in using the spaceport also needs ––to be reviewed. There are problems with the signing of contracts for the permission of launches by national authorities, as well as with the transfer of space technology to the sphere of commerce.

Like other digital infrastructures, satellites and other space objects are quite vulnerable, especially for cyber attacks. This vulnerability threatens not only the space objects themselves, but also the main earth systems. If left unchecked, such threats can disrupt global economic development and, as a result, international security. It should be noted that the described risks are quite real. In the last decade, many countries and private companies have been able to create and put into operation various tools that can affect vital space objects. Such new technologies are beginning to truly threaten the functioning of space systems.

The idea of space war is not new, it was started by German V-2 rockets. Now space objects are used to wage traditional wars on Earth. Satellites help to set goals and ensure the achievement of strategic goals. In addition, they can track the location and movement of the enemy’s armed forces and their bombs, and receive information about military operations. All this makes satellites an attractive target for terrestrial rockets. The United States, China and India are now developing weapons that can remove objects in comic space. The idea is to use lasers to prevent military satellites from sending signals to Earth, or even to detonate those satellites to fill space with debris. In addition, many countries are now trying to orient their armed forces towards outer space. In 2019, the US government created the Space Force, an independent military service whose doctrine, training, and capabilities are determined by the Pentagon.

Now there are no special laws and regulations that determine the course of a possible space war. In order for such a war to be ruled not by a kind of cosmic law of the jungle, the world community is trying to develop some kind of system of rules. In 1967, the Outer Space Treaty was signed, according to which it is prohibited to use any weapons of mass destruction in outer space, but the use of traditional types of weapons is not stipulated. For example, there is no timetable for dealing with two satellites dangerously close. In 2008, the European Union proposed a recommendatory code of conduct promoting “responsible behavior” in space.

In the same year, in response to this initiative, China and Russia proposed a treaty banning the use of weapons in space. It was about a ban on the placement of anti-missile weapons in orbit, and not about weapons capable of hitting satellites. The code proposed by the EU provoked a response not only from Russia and China, but also from the countries of Latin America and Africa. They support the idea of space disarmament, but they oppose that countries with space objects have the right to defend them by force.

Both of these initiatives have been forgotten. Currently, the development of military methods to destroy satellites continues, such an event could have a devastating effect on defense and international communication.

The Brazilian government should not forget about the positive changes in the aerospace field. Costs are falling, new technologies are emerging, and more importantly, a new generation of private entrepreneurs willing to work alongside governments. A more developed communication system, a new level of development of natural resources, changes in mass passenger traffic, and the possibility of tourist travel for wealthy people – all this will turn outer space into a real extension of the Earth.

Brazil will have specific interests in this area, therefore, thinking about the future, it should keep up with the technological and geopolitical exploration of outer space.

Meanwhile, we should not forget about new threats that can undermine our earthly infrastructure. They will soon begin to be discussed again at the global level, and Brazil should participate in this discussion.

SOURCE: https://www.theamericasgroup.net/team/ambassador-barbosa