U.S. Officials Hint at Militarizing Space

Vice President Mike Pence left open the door for increased military activities in space and declined to say whether there should continue to be a ban on nuclear weapons in space. However, in an Oct. 23 interview with The Washington Post, Pence noted that, “at this time,” there were no plans to amend the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, which forbids countries from deploying in Earth orbit “nuclear weapons or other kinds of weapons of mass destruction.” Pence said the treaty gives nations a “fair amount of flexibility” on military activities in space. On the same day, a senior State Department arms control official, Yleem Poblete, told the UN General Assembly First Committee that Russia has been increasing its military activities in space and that the United States “will prepare to meet and overcome” any such challenges.—SHERVIN TAHERAN