in a galaxy far, far away.....

 

In 1967, the United States and 117 other counties signed the Outer Space Treaty.

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The Outer Space Treaty, formally called the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, is a multilateral treaty that forms the basis of international space law.

Negotiated and drafted under the auspices of the United Nations, it was opened for signature in the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union on 27 January 1967, entering into force on 10 October 1967. As of October 2025, 118 countries are parties to the treaty—including all major spacefaring nations—and another 20 are signatories.

Key provisions of the treaty include prohibiting nuclear weapons in space; limiting the use of the Moon and all other celestial bodies to peaceful purposes; establishing that space shall be freely explored and used by all nations; and precluding any country from claiming sovereignty over outer space or any celestial body. Although it forbids establishing military bases, testing weapons and conducting military maneuvers on celestial bodies, the treaty does not expressly ban all military activities in space, nor the establishment of military space forces or the placement of conventional weapons in space.

The OST also declares that space is an area for free use and exploration by all and "shall be the province of all mankind". Drawing heavily from the Antarctic Treaty of 1961, the Outer Space Treaty likewise focuses on regulating certain activities and preventing unrestricted competition that were thought might lead to conflict at that time.^[9] Consequently, it is largely silent or ambiguous on newly developed space activities such as lunar and asteroid mining.

OST was at the heart of a 'network' of inter-state treaties and strategic power negotiations to achieve the best available conditions for nuclear weapons world security.

OST was the most important link in the chain of international legal arrangements for space from the late 1950s to the mid-1980s. The OST was followed by four additional agreements, with varied levels of accession: the safe return of astronauts who land in a foreign country (1967); liability for damages caused by spacecraft (1972); the registration of space vehicles (1976); and rules for activities on the Moon (1979). As the first and most foundational legal instrument of space law,^[14] the Outer Space Treaty and its broader principles of promoting the civil and peaceful use of space continue to underpin multilateral initiatives in space, such as the International Space Station and the Artemis Program.

History

 The Outer Space Treaty was spurred by the development of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) in the 1950s, which could reach targets through outer space. The Soviet Union's launch of Sputnik, the first artificial satellite, in October 1957, followed by a subsequent arms race with the United States, hastened proposals to prohibit the use of outer space for military purposes. On 17 October 1963, the U.N. General Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution prohibiting the introduction of weapons of mass destruction in outer space. Various proposals for an arms control treaty governing outer space were debated during a General Assembly session in December 1966, culminating in the drafting and adoption of the Outer Space Treaty the following January.

Houston, we have a problem.

News broke this morning that the United States has stationed weapons in Earth’s orbit.

The United States has stationed weapons in Earth’s orbit, Air Force Secretary Troy E. Meink said on Monday, the first such public acknowledgment by a Pentagon official after years of preparations to counter potential deployments by Russia and China.

“We are increasing readiness against existing threats, and the United States has on-orbit space control weapons capable of defending the Joint Force against hostile adversary action,” he said at a convention in Maryland, according to a news release published on the Air Force’s website.

Mr. Meink did not provide details about the type of weapons or say when they had been deployed. He made his remarks in a keynote speech at the Air, Space and Cyber Conference in National Harbor, Md., an annual forum hosted by the Air and Space Forces Association, a nonprofit organization for members of both services.

The Space Force did not immediately respond to a request for comment late Monday.

 If you are paying attention, you may notice that the space force patch looks a lot like the patch for the Enterprise spaceship.

 

The Pentagon has long feared that China and Russia are making advances in space operations that could threaten U.S. ground forces as well as American satellites.

 https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/15/us/politics/space-weapon-air-force-secretary.html

Neither Pete Hegseth or Donald Trump can be trusted to make responsible actions related to weapons in space, so it is up to congress to protect us, which is all the more reason that the midterm elections are so important.

 The United States, Russia and China began testing weapons capable of destroying satellites decades ago, but the United States has since disavowed such arms because they leave destructive debris fields in orbit.

In recent years, the Air Force started developing “low-debris-causing weapons” capable of disrupting or disabling enemy satellites, Frank Kendall, who served as Air Force secretary under President Joe Biden, told The Times in a 2024 interview.

Gen. Chance Saltzman, who served as the Space Force’s chief of space operations during the Biden and second Trump administrations until his retirement last month, told a Senate committee in 2023 that the new space weapons systems would be fully operational by 2026.

Neither Mr. Kendall nor Gen. Saltzman specified how the systems would work. Other former Pentagon officials have said they likely would include lasers, high-powered microwave systems or even U.S. satellites that can grab or move enemy satellites.

Mr. Kendall said in 2024 that it was prudent to recognize that space “is a place that can be used for military advantage.”

 With luck, we’ll avoid warfare in space, but it will take vigilance by congress to keep us safe – so be sure to vote in November.