Is the ‘peaceful use’ of outer space being ruled out?

Abstract

Dual-use space technology poses a threat to the original peaceful mandate of scientific research, being de facto a proxy for future military confrontation in space. Following the example of the USA, the European Union and consortia of European nations are starting to flatten the barriers between military, commercial and scientific missions and programmes, under pressure from security issues and to protect their economic investments in space. While arguing against the militarization of the space environment, this article presents a summary of the potential benefits and drawbacks of the rise of dual use in the European scenario. It then discusses the Italian Cosmo-SkyMed mission as an example of Europe's move towards dual-use technology. Some suggestions are made for enforcing the peaceful use of outer space, such as maintaining free data availability and providing for greater public and scientific say in missions.