Outer Space Treaty in jeopardy - New frontiers for arms race?

As movie actor Michael Caine might say, “not a lot of people know this”, but we have just passed a remarkable milestone in the history of space exploration.

It is 50 years since the Outer Space Treaty came into force. It has been the cornerstone of international space law ever since, designed to prevent the extension of an arms race into outer space.

Ninety countries signed the OST, binding themselves to an agreement that prohibited the deployment of weapons of mass destruction in space.

The treaty remains in force, but it is looking increasingly vulnerable as a protection against the militarisation of space.

Even for ground-based weapons, no nuclear states have disarmed since the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty of 1968.

There are growing signs that the US military has already integrated its space weaponry capabilities into its overall air force structure.

And, as the arms race on the ground has shown, once the Americans begin expanding their military might, Russia and China will not be far behind.

China has already tested an anti-satellite weapon, destroying an obsolete weather satellite that it launched in 1999, while both Russia and the US have field-tested anti-satellite weapons.

Which means that the OST, founded on noble principles, will soon rank as no more than a quaint relic of the Cold War.