Document Type
Article
Abstract
The weaponization of space during the Cold War would have posed a significant threat to global security if left unchecked. The Cold War showcased the ideological rivalry between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and their development of a nuclear arsenal. Space was an unexplored domain that actors thought could be weaponized and even become a strategic advantage if a war between these superpowers broke out. The decision to not militarize space, not place orbital weapons in space, and not utilize weapons of mass destruction came from a standoff in which both parties could not move forward with their plans without risking their nation's security or provoking a global nuclear catastrophe. Both actors individually agreed to prevent militarization, yet conflict and competition required a decree to ultimately stop weaponization. The United States and Soviet Union's development of space-based military systems during the Cold War created a need for strategies and policies to regulate outer space that would help ensure global and space security.
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