Sarov

Nizhni Novgorod Region

Gymnazia № 2

The topic of project:

“Outer Space”: Next Frontier for Proliferation or Forum for Cooperation?

Student: Teacher:

Kirill Kovaldov Tatiana Satyukova

Grade 10

Gymnasia # 2

2007

Benchmark I.

In Benchmark I we are going to dwell on the history of people’s interest in and interaction with space. We are going to speak about why space might be interesting or fascinating and about the technologies that are needed for use in space.

Objective 1 – Definitions

As we were told at the lessons at school, there are numerous stars in the universe, which form in an orderly system and a vast organic body. The order of the universe is of two kinds: vertical and horizontal.

If we look at the nine planets of the solar system, we can see that they form an orderly, horizontal arrangement of Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. This planetary system, centering on the Sun, is an example of horizontal order in the universe.

We tried to show the vertical order and the horizontal order of the universe in the scheme below:

Moon

We are sure that in the human family, there is a vertical order too, which consists of grandchildren, children, parents, grandparents, and so on; and there is horizontal order as well, which consists of brothers and sisters centered on the parents. From the perspective of Philosophy the human being is a miniature of the Universe. May be that is why people have always wanted to know what Universe is and wanted to go into space to meet Earth’s “ sisters” and “brothers”.

Everything has to have a starting point, so does our Universe. But no one really knows how it actually came about.

Astronomers estimate that there are about 50 billion galaxies in the universe. Besides stars and planets, galaxies contain clusters of stars, atomic hydrogen gas; molecular hydrogen; complex molecules composed of hydrogen, nitrogen, carbon, and silicon, among others; and cosmic rays.

So, where did the Universe come from? And what is Space?

“Around 15 billion years ago, there was no such thing as the universe.

Instead, there was only a singularity. Our entire universe was compressed within this singularity. At that moment, space and time did not exist. Suddenly, there was an ineffable explosion and the universe came into existence.” (http://library.thinkquest.org/20632/bigbang.html)

From different sources we have learnt that :

- Space is a boundless, three-dimensional extent in which objects and events occur and have relative position and direction.( www.britannica.com)

- Space is the expanse in which the solar system, stars, and galaxies exist; the universe or the region of this expanse beyond Earth's atmosphere.

- Outer space, also simply called space, refers to the relatively empty regions of the universe outside the atmospheres of celestial bodies. Outer space is used to distinguish it from airspace (and terrestrial locations). Contrary to popular understanding, outer space is not completely empty (i.e. a perfect vacuum) but contains a low density of particles, predominantly hydrogen gas, as well as electromagnetic radiation. (http://en.wikipedia.org)

To us the scientific definition of “space” is the following:

“ The area outside the Earth’s air where the stars and planets are “.

Cosmos is originally the synonym to “ Order, Harmony and Beauty” and with the time going forward it meant “ World” or “ Universe”. At first the world was called so by Pythagor who thought about the proportions and harmony of all its parts. In Renaissance times alchemists thought about “ great “ and “ small” Cosmos ( macro cosmos and microcosmos). The first was the outer world and the last was a man. Between the first and the second a lot of analogies and veiled relationships were found. So, as we see, the idea of studying cosmos (space) appeared centuries ago.

Not so long ago I’ve watched the ‘Armageddon’ movie. I should admit that it has affected the depth of my soul. Though it is some kind of a ‘fiction’ movie, still it continues to impress you. In my opinion, the plot of this movie reveals several formidable questions to us: ‘Are we enough ready to explore Space? Are we enough developed for such a thing? Are we able to defend ourselves against fearsome dangers hid by Space?’ In a way this movie answers many of these questions.

First of all it is necessary to mark that the Earth embraced a danger unprepared. So, when it came up to the discussion which measures should be taken against such a threat the ‘best minds’ had only several options left. Even with our steadily developing science we shouldn’t forget that our planet is only a small vulnerable grain in the great sands of Space. So it’s quite sensible to guess that the fulfilled progress is only a first step on the road to even greater Space and development of such sciences as physics, chemistry and biology should bring us a step closer to Space’s secrets. Despite all troubles the right ‘option’ was found. The ‘brains’ of our society developed a plan which involved nuclear charges, almost the latest great invention of the modern science. I think this approves my words.

So when the right solution was found the next question was about forming a team of experienced people who would be sent to the asteroid to blow it. It’s fair to assume that such specialists are not so “simple(-minded)”, so they all have the unique traits of character. The effect is that such people won’t communicate properly during critical minutes which may occur to in space. In my opinion, it is really necessary to invest money in some ‘preparation’ courses which may become very useful in certain times as they did in the movie investing lots of money in training courses. By the way, it helped them to achieve certain results in a very short time.

Now it’s time to speak on politics. As we watch the movie we realize that people don’t understand the cause of the threat. The first thing coming into our minds is that it is an attack launched by a hostile country. Certainly we can’t just leave such a possibility aside, but you know, here there should be some treaties which can settle things down from the very beginning. Speaking of those treaties, in my opinion, they should consist of all the countries roaming the space, because space problems are the global ones. And it takes all of mankind’s strength to solve them. I bet it makes some sense, by the way, in Russia we have a saying: one head is okay, but two heads is even better. These are just my arguments.

And I think that you would appreciate words from the astronaut’s motto: ‘For the good of the humanity…’ I think the direction of development has been already pointed out.

Let’s see what kinds of objects have already been put into space.

We all know that although studies from earth using optical and radio telescopes had accumulated much data on the nature of celestial bodies, it was not until after World War II that the development of powerful rockets made direct space exploration a technological possibility, though study of the use of rockets for spaceflight began early in the 20th century. Germany's research on rocket propulsion in the 1930s led to development of the V-2 missile.

The first artificial satellite, Sputnik I, was launched by the USSR on the 4^th of October 1957. It was the pride of the country and the whole world watched it with great interest and hope. Of course, this fact spurred the dormant U.S. program into action, leading to an international competition popularly known as the “space race.” And the next year Explorer I, the first American satellite, was launched into space. It happened on the 31^st of January 1958. The start to exploration of the universe has been made. Although earth-orbiting satellites have by far accounted for the great majority of launches in the space program, even more information on the moon, other planets, and the sun has been acquired by space probes. We’ve tried to make a table of the objects that have been put into space. See below:

Year	Objects ; Artificial satellites and space probes	Country
1957	Sputnik 1 is launched, the first Earth orbiting satellite	Soviet Union - Earth- Success
	Sputnik 2 is launched, the first Earth orbiting satellite with an animal (Laika)	Soviet Union - Earth - Partial success
1958	Explorer 1	USA - Earth - Success
	Pioneer 1 orbiter	USA - Moon - Failure
	Pioneer 3 flyby	USA - Moon - Failure
1959	Luna 1 flyby launched, it discovered solar wind	Soviet Union - Moon-Success
	Pioneer 4 flyby	USA - Moon
	Luna 2 impactor launched, it was the first spacecraft to impact onto the surface of the moon	Soviet Union - Moon - Success
1960	Luna 3 flyby launched, it returned the first image of the Moon's hidden side	Soviet Union - Moon - Success
	Pioneer 5 solar monitor	USA Sun
	Mars 1960A probe	Soviet Union- Mars - Failure
	Mars 1960B probe	Soviet Union- Mars - Failure
1961	1VA (proto-Venera) flyby	Soviet Union-Venus - Failure
	Venera 1 flyby	Soviet Union - Venus - Failure
	OSCAR1 First Amateur Satellite	USA - Earth - Success
1962	Mariner 2 launched and became the first satellite to return data about Venus	USA - Venus - Success
	Telstar 1 is launched	USA - Earth - Success
	Alouette 1 is launched, the first Canadian satellite	Canada - Earth - Success
	Ranger 3 photographic mission	USA - Moon - Failure
	Ranger 4 photographic mission	USA - Moon - Success
	Ranger 5 photographic mission	USA - Moon - Partial Failure
	Mars 1962 A flyby	Soviet Union -Mars - Failure
	Mars 1 flyby	Soviet Union - Mars - Failure
	Mars 1962B lander	Soviet Union- Mars- Failure
1963	Syncom 1 is launched	USA - Earth - Failure
	Syncom 2 is launched and set the geosynchronous orbit	USA - Earth - Success
	Luna 4 lander (became probe)	Soviet Union-Moon- Partial Failure
1964	Syncom 3 is launched and sets the geostationary orbit	USA - Earth - Success
	Zond 1 flyby	Soviet Union-Venus - Failure
	Ranger 6 photographic mission	USA - Moon - Failure
	Ranger 7 photographic mission	USA - Moon - Success
	Mariner 3 flyby	USA - Mars - Failure
	Mariner 4 flyby, the first successful Mars mission	USA - Mars - Success
	Zond 2 flyby	Soviet Union- Mars - Failure
1965	Pioneer 6 solar probe	USA - Sun - Success
1965	Venera 2 flyby	Soviet Union- Venus- Failure
1965	Venera 3 atmospheric probe	Soviet Union-Venus - Failure
	Ranger 8 photographic mission	USA - Moon - Success
	Ranger 9 photographic mission	USA - Moon - Success
	Alouette 2 is launched	Canada - Earth - Success
	Luna 5 lander	Soviet Union -Moon - Failure
	Luna 6 lander	Soviet Union -Moon - Failure
	Zond 3 flyby	Soviet Union -Moon- Success
	Luna 7 lander	Soviet Union -Moon - Failure
	AstГ©rix satellite	France - Satellite - Success
	Luna 8 lander	Soviet Union -Moon - Failure
	Mariner 4 sends the first clear pictures of Mars	USA - Mars - Success
1966	Pioneer 7 solar probe	USA - Sun - Success
	Luna 9 lander returned the first photographs from the surface of the Moon	Soviet Union - Moon - Success
	Luna 10 becomes the first spacecraft to orbit the Moon	Soviet Union - Moon - Success
	Surveyor 1 lander	USA - Moon - Success
	Lunar Orbiter 1 orbiter	USA - Moon - Success
	Luna 11 orbiter	Soviet Union -Moon- Success
	Surveyor 2	USA - Moon - Failure
	Luna 12 orbiter	Soviet Union - Moon-Success
	Lunar Orbiter 2 orbiter	USA - Moon - Success
	Luna 13 lander	Soviet Union - Moon - Success
1967	Ariel 3 launched, to study VLF radiation, high altitude electron density & oxygen.	UK - Earth - Success
	Pioneer 8 solar probe	USA - Sun - Success
	Venera 4 sends the first data from below the clouds of Venus	Soviet Union - Venus - Success
	Mariner 5 flyby	USA - Venus - Success
	Lunar Orbiter 3 orbiter	USA - Moon - Success
	Surveyor 2 lander	USA - Moon - Success
	Lunar Orbiter 4 orbiter	USA - Moon - Success
	Surveyor 3 lander	USA - Moon - Failure
	Explorer 35 orbiter	USA - Moon - Success
	Lunar Orbiter 5 orbiter	USA - Moon - Success
	Surveyor 5 lander	USA - Moon - Success
	Surveyor 6 lander, also took off from the Moon's surface	USA - Moon - Success
	The OSO-3 gamma-ray satellite discovers gamma-ray emission from the plane of the Milky Way	USA - Success
1968	Pioneer 9 solar probe	USA - Sun - Success
	Surveyor 7 lander	USA - Moon - Success
	Luna 14 orbiter	Soviet Union -Moon- Success
	Zond 5 flyby	Soviet Union -Moon- Success
	Zond 6 flyby	Soviet Union -Moon- Success
	Apollo 8 manned orbiter became the first manned lunar flyby	USA - Moon - Success
1969	ISIS-I Canadian ionosphere probe	Canada - Earth - Success
	Venera 5 atmospheric probe	Soviet Union-Venus- Success
	Venera 6 atmospheric probe	Soviet Union-Venus- Success
	Apollo 10 manned orbiter	USA - Moon - Success
	Luna 15 lander	Soviet Union- Moon - Failure
	Apollo 11 manned lander became the first manned lunar landing	USA - Moon - Success
	Zond 7 flyby	Soviet Union -Moon- Success
	Apollo 12 manned lander	USA - Moon - Success
	Mariner 6 flyby	USA - Mars - Success
	Mariner 7 flyby	USA - Mars - Success
1970	Osumi is the first Japanese satellite	Japan - Earth - Success
	Venera 7 is the first successful landing of a spacecraft on another planet	Soviet Union-Venus - Success
	Apollo 13 manned lander	USA - Moon - Failure
	Luna 16 lander is the first automated return of samples from the Moon	Soviet Union - Moon - Success
	Zond 8 flyby	Soviet Union -Moon- Success
	Luna 17/Lunokhod 1 lander/rover is the first automated surface exploration of the Moon	Soviet Union - Moon - Success
	Launch of Uhuru, the first dedicated X-ray satellite	USA - Success
	Launch of Dong Fang Hong I, the first satellite of China	China - Success
1971	Apollo 14 manned lander	USA - Moon - Success
	Apollo 15 manned lander, the mission included the first deep spacewalk	USA - Moon - Success
	Luna 18 lander	Soviet Union- Moon - Failure
	Luna 19 orbiter	Soviet Union -Moon- Success
	Mariner 8 flyby	USA - Mars - Failure
	Cosmos 419 probe	Soviet Union - Mars - Failure
	Mars 2 orbiter and lander, created the first human artifact on Mars	Soviet Union - Mars - Partial Failure
	Mars 3 orbiter and lander, first successful landing on Mars	Soviet Union -Mars - Partial Success
	Mariner 9 orbiter, first pictures of Mars' moons (Phobos and Deimos) taken	USA - Mars - Success
	Prospero X-3 satellite, first and only satellite launched by Britain using a British rocket	UK - Earth - Success
1972	Venera 8 lander	Soviet Union-Venus- Success
	Luna 20 lander	Soviet Union -Moon- Success
	Apollo 16 manned lander	USA - Moon - Success
	Apollo 17 manned lander	USA - Moon - Success
	Launch of the Copernicus ultraviolet satellite	Success
1973	Explorer 49 solar probe	USA - Sun - Success
	Mariner 10 launched, it passed by and photographed Mercury, also was the first dual planet probe	USA - Venus/Mercury - Success
	Luna 21/Lunokhod 2 lander/rover	Soviet Union-Moon-Success
	Mars 4 orbiter	Soviet Union-Mars - Failure
	Mars 5 orbiter	Soviet Union-Mars- Success
	Mars 6 orbiter and lander	Soviet Union-Mars - Failure
	Mars 7 orbiter and lander	Soviet Union-Mars - Failure
	Skylab was launched, re-entered Earth's atmosphere in 1979	USA - Success
1974	Helios 1 solar probe	Germany - Sun - Success
	Luna 22 orbiter	Soviet Union-Moon-Success
	Luna 23 probe	Soviet Union -Moon-Failure
	Launch of the Ariel V X-ray satellite	Success
1975	Venera 9 returns the first pictures of the surface of Venus	Soviet Union -Venus- Success
	Venera 10 orbiter and lander	Soviet Union -Venus-Success
	Viking 1 orbiter and lander; lands on Mars 1976	USA - Mars - Partial Success
	Viking 2 orbiter and lander; lands on Mars 1976	USA - Mars - Success
	Aryabhata India, launched by USSR	India - Earth - Success
	India's first rocket SLV launched	India
1976	Helios 2 solar probe	Germany - Sun - Success
	Luna 24 lander	Soviet Union - Moon-Success
	Hermes Communications Technology Satellite prototype for testing direct broadcast TV	Earth - Success
	The Vela and ANS X-ray satellites discover X-ray bursts	Success
	The OSO-8 X-ray satellite shows that X-ray bursts have blackbody spectra	Success
1977	Launch of the HEAO-1 X-ray satellite	Success
1978	Pioneer Venus 1 orbiter	USA - Venus - Success
	Pioneer Venus 2 atmospheric probe	USA - Venus - Success
	Venera 11 flyby and lander	Soviet Union -Venus - Partial Success
	Venera 12 flyby and lander	Soviet Union -Venus-Success
	Launch of the International Ultraviolet Explorer satellite	Success
	Launch of the Einstein X-ray satellite (HEAO-2) is the first X-ray photographs of astronomical objects	Success
1979	Launch of the Hakucho X-ray satellite (ASTRO-A)	Success
	Launch of the Ariel VI cosmic-ray and X-ray satellite	Success
	Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 send back images of Jupiter and its system	USA - Jupiter - Success
1980	Solar Maximum Mission solar probe succeeded after being repaired in Earth orbit	USA - Sun - Success
	Voyager 1 sends back images of Saturn and its system	USA - Saturn - Success
	Launch of the Solar Maximum Mission satellite	USA - Success
1981	Venera 13 launched, it returned the first colour pictures of the surface of Venus	Soviet Union - Venus - Success
	Venera 14 flyby and lander	Soviet Union – Venus-Success
	Voyager 2 sends back images of Saturn and its system	USA - Saturn - Success
1983	Venera 15 orbiter	Soviet Union -Venus-Success
	Venera 16 orbiter	Soviet Union-Venus-Success
	Launch of the EXOSAT X-ray satellite	Success
	Launch of the Tenma X-ray satellite (ASTRO-B)	Success
	Launch of the IRAS satellite	Success
1984	Vega 1 flyby, atmospheric probe and lander	Soviet Union - Venus/Halley's Comet - Success
	Vega 2 flyby, atmospheric probe and lander	Soviet Union - Venus/Halley's Comet - Success
1986	Voyager 2 sends back images of Uranus and its system	USA - Uranus - Success
	Mir Core Module is launched, in 1987 becoming the first multi-module spacestation.	Soviet Union - Success
1987	Launch of the Ginga X-ray satellite (ASTRO-C)	Success
1988	Phobos 1 orbiter and lander	Soviet Union - Mars - Failure
	Phobos 2 flyby and lander	Soviet Union - Mars - Partial Failure
1989	Magellan orbiter launched which mapped 99 percent of the surface of Venus (300 m resolution)	Venus - Success
	Galileo flyby, orbiter and atmospheric probe	USA - Venus/Earth/Moon/Gaspra/Ida/Jupiter - Success
	Voyager 2 sends back images of Neptune and its system	USA - Neptune - Success
	Launch of the Granat gamma-ray and X-ray satellite	Success
	Launch of the Hipparcos satellite	Europe - Success
	Launch of the COBE satellite	Success
1990	Ulysses solar flyby	USA - Sun - Success
	MUSES-A probe, this was the first non-U.S. or USSR probe to reach the Moon	Japan - Moon
	Launch of the Hubble Space Telescope	USA/Europe - Success
	Launch of the ROSAT X-ray satellite is the first imaging X-ray sky survey	Germany - Success -
	First observations made with Astro-1 (BBXRT, HUT, UIT, WUPPE)	Success
1991	Yohkoh solar probe	Japan - Sun - Success
	Launch of the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory satellite	USA - Success
1992	Mars Observer orbiter	USA - Mars -Failure
1993	Launch of the ASCA (ASTRO-D) X-ray satellite	Japan - Success
1994	Clementine orbiter mapped the surface of the Moon (resolution 125-150m) and allowed the first accurate relief map of the Moon to be generated	USA - Moon - Success
1995	SOHO solar probe	USA - Sun - Success
1996	Mars Global Surveyor orbiter	USA - Mars
	Mars Pathfinder/Sojourner lander/rover, the first automated surface exploration another planet	USA - Mars - Success
	Mars 96 orbiter and lander	Russia - Mars - Failure
1997	Saturn and Titan- Cassini-Huygens - arrived in orbit on July 1, 2004, landed on Titan January 14, 2005	USA/Europe - Success
1998	Launch of Kwangmyongsong by North Korea though no independent source was able to verify its existence	North Korea - Unknown
	Lunar Prospector orbiter	USA - Moon - Success
	Nozomi (Planet B) orbiter, the first Japanese spacecraft to reach another planet	Japan - Mars - Failure
	Mars Climate Orbiter	USA - Mars - Failure
1999	Mars Polar Lander	USA - Mars - Failure
	Deep Space 2 (DS2) penetrators	USA - Mars - Failure
2000	IMAGE launched, the first space storm weather satellite	USA - Earth
	Munin Swedish nanosatellite, launched by US	Sweden - Earth Partial Success
2001	Genesis solar wind sample return - crash-landed on return	USA - Sun - Partial Success
	Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) performs cosmological observations.	USA - Success
	Mars Odyssey	USA - Mars - Success
2003	MOST the smallest space telescope in orbit	Canada - Earth - Success
	SCISAT-1 Canadian satellite which observes Earth's upper atmosphere	Canada - Earth - Success
	CONTOUR launched, but lost during early trajectory insertion	Comet Encke - Failure
	Smart 1 orbiter	Sweden - Moon - Success
	Mars Express orbiter (successfully reached orbit) and failed lander, the Beagle 2	Europe - Mars - Partial Success
	Mars Exploration Rovers - successful launches, Spirit successfully landed, Opportunity successfully landed	USA - Mars - Success
	Double Star TC-1 launched successfully	Earth
2004	Comet 67P - Rosetta space probe launched	yet to arrive
	Double Star TC-2 - launched successfully	Earth
	MESSENGER orbiter - launched - yet to arrive	USA - Mercury
	Launch of the Swift Gamma ray burst observatory.	Success
2005	Sina 1 - launched	Iran - Earth
	Comet Tempel 1- Deep Impact- successful comet impact
	Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter - in orbit	USA - Mars
	Venus Express - in orbit	Europe - Venus
	New Horizons - launched - yet to arrive	USA - Pluto -
	Advanced Land Observation Satellite - launched	Earth -
	SELENE orbiter and lander - not yet launched	Moon -
	Chang'e-I - not yet launched	China - Moon
2007-	Chandrayaan (work in progress)	India - Moon
2007	Galileo, TerraSAR-X- ? http://www.howstuffworks.com
2008	Jason-2, LRO-LR
2009	MicroSCOPE
200?	Iran's Mesbah - not yet launched	Earth
2010	LUNAR-A orbiter and penetrators - not yet launched	Moon
2013	NPOESS-? http://www.howstuffworks.com

We have found out that there are more than 800 active satellites currently in orbit. The United States owns more than 400 active satellites, just over 50 percent of all satellites. Russia and China have the second and third highest number of space assets, owning 89 and 35 satellites, respectively. 

Civilian satellites, which perform tasks for the commercial, scientific, and government sectors, make up the majority of satellites. Only a very small percentage of countries’ satellites are military in nature.

http://www.punprint.com

Approximately two-thirds of all active satellites are used for communications. Satellites for navigation, military surveillance, Earth observation and remote sensing, astrophysics and space physics, and Earth science and meteorology missions each comprise about five to seven percent of total satellites.

Satellite Missions

Orbital debris is any human-made object in orbit that no longer serves a useful purpose, including discarded equipment, abandoned satellites, bolts and other hardware released during satellite deployment, and particles from explosions or collisions.

A computer-generated NASA image shows
orbital debris in low Earth orbit. Around 95 percent of the
debris represented by the dots are not functional satellites.

NASA

http://www.foreignpolicy.com

“Space weapons are weapons specifically designed to attack objects in space or objects on the ground. The Air Force and Pentagon are most interested in weapons that interfere with satellites without blowing them up. That could mean jamming a communications satellite, or dazzling a picture-taking satellite by blinding it. But the new Air Force doctrine is also very proactive. It talks about denying other countries the capabilities to operate from space. The idea is space superiority or space dominance, or to use the Air Force’s euphemism, “offensive counter space operations”, said Michael Krepon, an US expert on weaponizing space in his interview to FOREIGN POLICY.

“Weaponizing space would be very unwise. No satellite has been the subject of a direct physical attack in the history of warfare. Whatever we do sets a precedent that others will follow. We depend so heavily on satellites to protect lives and wage war with a minimum of collateral damage. Attacks on satellites would mean that wars become a whole lot more difficult for our forces in the field and a lot more harmful to noncombatants.”

Huge autonomous space stations (regenerating oxygen, plants and all), automatic defense platforms (based on a laser beams system), mining stations (in order to mine minerals from asteroids and different space objects), Orbital Research Stations (for a detail research on the Earth's atmosphere), orbital weather changing machines controlled by adjacent space stations, orbital anti-asteroid defense stations (or a huge complex of defense stations which can produce a large energy shield)- these are kind of objects that might be put into space in the future.

Nowadays much is said about different kinds of weapons and space weapons in particular. Let’s see what space weapons are:
This term commonly refers to:
- Any weapons (whether land-, sea-, or air-based) able to damage a satellite or interfere with its functioning. These weapons are called anti-satellite (or ASAT) weapons. Weapons that interfere with a satellite’s ground stations or ground-based communications receivers are typically not considered ASAT weapons.

- Any space-based weapons intended to attack targets in space or on the ground. These weapons include space-based ballistic missile defense interceptors and ground-attack weapons.

Then why are space weapons of great concern now?
Satellites play a crucial role in civil, scientific, economic, and military endeavors. With the world’s largest investment in space assets, the United States, for example, has a tremendous amount to lose from deploying space weapons. Legitimizing attacks on satellites is shortsighted, since other countries will also be able to develop effective ASAT weapons, ultimately increasing the vulnerability of U.S. satellites.

Developing weapons can also undermine relations and increase tensions with other countries, which could reduce cooperation needed for progress on issues such as terrorism and reduce stability during a crisis. Lastly, debris from destroyed satellites can damage other satellites, hindering the use of space for important military and civil purposes far into the future.

Space-based weapons are being considered for future development, testing, and deployment against ballistic missiles, but probably not until sometime after 2010 (due to technical obstacles).

Illustration: Nathan Walker 
An artist's conception of a directed-energy
anti-satellite (ASAT) weapon in space; the
ASAT weapon is using a laser to attack
another satellite.

http://www.punprint.com

Anti-satellite systems, as a type of space weapon, may have various designs. Some might be direct-ascent missiles that would be launched into space and either collide directly with or detonate conventional explosives near their targets to destroy them. Others might be space-based systems that would be moved into companion orbits and exploded near target spacecraft.

Although treaties currently prevent the testing of nuclear weapons in space, nuclear-tipped anti-satellite and anti-missile systems could be developed if the existing treaty regime were to collapse under political pressures caused by uncontrolled space weaponization.

Militarization of space – ( “militarize”- to supply a country, area with military forces and defences ( Longman Dictionary) is a system of political, economical and ideological means, which are used by the government of a country to intensify military power, armament and for stirring up military preparation in space.

Weaponization of space- is ensuring of a country by totality of means of facilities for prosecution of war in space (aggression and defence).

As we can see both terms are quite similar and different at the same time. In our opinion militarization of space leads to weaponization of space. It’s an essential thing for a government of one’s country first to initiate a policy of ‘space militarization’ and then start to weaponize it. Such kind of policy is a preparatory one and it gives all explanation to captious and non-trusting people. As we can guess from the definitions above: ‘militarization’ differs from ‘weaponization’ in several ways. Firstly, ‘militarization’ means undertaking some precautious measures and initiating various policies, so it’s like fortifying a castle in case that there is a possibility of the attack. Secondly, ‘militarization’ means that you should consider opinions of other ‘capable-of-roaming-the space’ countries and come with them to some kind of agreement which will provide an authorized and the most democratic use and exploration of space. ‘Weaponization’ directly means invading space with military units (orbital satellites and other space defense systems). And we should say that these processes occur in parallel. So there is no static position between ‘militarization & weaponization’.

We can make a good example of the US and China. Both countries try to establish its position on the world scene of policy (well, I bet the US has already established itself quite well, but perfection doesn’t have a limit). But China enters a more aggressive policy doing some doubtful and unauthorized dangerous experiments. That’s why some countries are concerned about China’s future-in-space. They start to think of it as of a possible threat to their security.

While space has long been militarized—hosting communications, surveillance, and navigation satellites to support military operations—it is not yet weaponized.

“Earth is little more than a sitting duck in a cosmic shooting gallery, the scientists tell us. But that doesn't mean we can't shoot back. If an asteroid is ever found to have our planet in its sights, a carefully aimed missile can simply knock the rock off course.”(Robert Roy Britt, science writer)
We can agree with this but it is hard to deflect something that’s coming right at you. Putting missiles in space at an angle will solve this problem and they will hit the asteroids.

“Some 587 large, potentially threatening asteroids have been found near Earth. All are bigger than 1 kilometer, the threshold for what most researchers agree could cause global catastrophe. None of these rocks is on course to hit Earth. But there are about 500 more that have yet to be found, according to leading estimates.

Only when humans will stop planning and conducting big wars among themselves, the governments will have more time to think about the new danger coming from space. The current response to terrorism has led the U.S. to significantly increase the budget for space-based defense”.( http://www.space.com )

Growing global dependence on space assets for a wide variety of scientific, economic, and military purposes has risen concerns about what might happen if such assets were to be threatened by hostile countries. As we know, today, only Russia and the United States have tested space weapons of any sort, but other countries, such as India or China, for example, are believed to be conducting at least initial research into lasers and kinetic kill systems intended for space attack.

If a country hopes to develop an effective national missile defense, it will need to rely on a variety of space-based sensors and tracking radars and possibly constellations of space-based lasers and kinetic kill satellite weapons. In wartime, these systems could create inviting targets for country’s adversaries. For these reasons, the administration of this country needs to investigate its options and develop weapons capable of meeting these threats before they arise. Existing treaties governing space ban the stationing of weapons of mass destruction in orbit, ban nuclear testing in space, and forbid states from engaging in activities might threaten other parties without providing prior warning.

“Space security” is defined for this project as the secure and sustainable access to, and use of space, and freedom from space-based threats.

To examine the full-scope of space security, it is necessary to examine the following indicators:
• The Space Environment
• Space Security Laws, Policies, and Doctrines
• Civil Space Programs and Global Utilities
• Commercial Space
• Space Support for Terrestrial Military Operations
• Space Systems Protection
• Space Systems Negation
• Space-Based Strike Weapons

We have researched books written about space before the 20^th century and at present and here we offer the materials that we found to be interesting.

“One of the most powerful creations of Greek science was the mathematical astronomy created by Hipparchus in the second century B.C. and given final form by Ptolemy in the second century A.D. Ptolemy's work was known in the Middle Ages through imperfect Latin versions. In fifteenth-century Italy, however, it was brought back to life. George Trebizond, a Cretan emigre in the curia, produced a new translation and commentary. These proved imperfect and aroused much heated criticism. But a German astronomer, Johannes Regiomontanus, a protege of the brilliant Greek churchman Cardinal Bessarion, came to Italy with his patron, learned Greek, and produced a full-scale "Epitome" of Ptolemy's work from which most astronomers learned their art for the next century and more. Copernicus was only one of the celebrities of the Scientific Revolution whose work rested in large part on the study of ancient science carried out in fifteenth-century Italy”( from Byzantine Astronomical Collection)

“In the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, a number of recent Arabic and Persian astronomical works were translated into Greek by scholars who traveled to Persia under the Ilkhanid Empire. One short and confused treatise, translated by Gregory Chioniades, describes Tusi's lunar theory, illustrated, not altogether correctly, in this figure along with Tusi's device for producing rectilinear from circular motions (shown also in Vat. ar. 319 (math19)). A part of the planetary and lunar theory of the astronomers of Maragha was later utilized by Copernicus, though scholars do not know how he gained access to this material”. (Vat. gr. 211 fol. 117 recto math16 NS.04 )

“George Trebizond, one of the notable Greek scholars who came to Italy in the early fifteenth century, made a new translation of the "Almagest" from the Greek for Pope Nicholas V between March and December of 1451. Due to a dispute about the quality of Trebizond's commentary on the text, the translation was never dedicated to Nicholas. This very elaborate manuscript of the translation, with the figures drawn in several colors, was dedicated to Pope Sixtus IV by George's son Andreas. These pages show Book VI Chapter 7, on the computation of the duration of solar and lunar eclipses.” (Ptolemy, Almagest In Latin, Translated by George Trebizond, ca. 1481)

“The "Epitome of the Almagest" was written between 1460 and 1463 by Georg Peurbach and Johannes Regiomontanus at the suggestion of Cardinal Bessarion. It gave Europeans the first sophisticated understanding of Ptolemy's astronomy, and was studied by every competent astronomer of the sixteenth century. The illustration here shows the distance of the sun from the earth as 1210 terrestrial radii (about 4,800,000 miles), which is too small by a factor of twenty, but gives a solar parallax (the maximum displacement due to observing the sun from the surface rather than from the center of the earth) of less than 3 minutes, still well below the limit of observational accuracy”. (Georg Peurbach and Johannes Regiomontanus, Epitome of the Almagest In Latin, Late fifteenth century)

Written in 1898 by visionary author H.G. Wells, "The War of the Worlds" stands today not only on its own merits as a thrilling, terrifying work of the imagination, but as the granddaddy of all the extraterrestrial-invasion fiction that has saturated the media of this century. One is even tempted to proffer the possibility that, had it not been for Wells's seminal work, we may not have witnessed the UFO phenomenon that has manifested itself throughout the past 50 years or more. "The War of the Worlds" involves the abrupt landings of the Martians, fleeing their dying planet, in England, and their immediate campaign to subjugate human beings whose blood they need as sustenance. Through the use of fearsome weapons such as poison gas, and a heat-beam (Wells anticipating the laser) that incinerates everything in its path, the Martians( hideous octupi-like creatures, and their miraculous machinery) reduce much of London and the surrounding areas to smoldering ruin. This mass destruction Wells narrates in horrifying detail through the first-person of his protagonist, a writer-philosopher. In addition to serving as our eyes as civilization is apocalyptically laid to waste, the philosopher gives voice to the socialist Wells's views on humanity's vain view of its preeminent place in the cosmos, as well as to use the Martians' seemingly unstoppable domination as a way of comparing it to the British Empire's treatment of its subjugated populations. For all who have thrilled to the writings of Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, Bradbury, as well as the films "The Thing", "Invaders from Mars", up through "Independence Day", we may give thanks to "The War of the Worlds", the progenitor of the hundreds of excitingly imaginative invasions of our paltry little planet.

In 1938 12 million people heard the radio announce an invasion from Mars. It was Orson Wells' adaptation of H.G. Wells' 1898 novel War of the Worlds. Radio had never been used in such a way before. Hundreds of thousands of listeners actually believed the world was under attack. The government initiated an investigation and the episode has become a case study in mass hysteria.

The "Panic Broadcast" helped create an immortal place for War of the Worlds in our cultural identity. Countless B-movies and derivative science-fiction of varying quality have completed the process. All this baggage makes it difficult to evaluate this novel as a novel.

Let me begin with my obligatory tribute to Wells: He had most of the best ideas, and almost all of the original ideas, decades before the 'greats' of the genre were out of diapers. In War of the Worlds, Wells again is depicting a turning point in the historical development of mankind. In this instance, the change is catastrophic, and caused by the invasion of turn-of-the-century England by Martians.

Seeking to escape their dying world, the Martians identify Earth as an ideal replacement and send an preparatory party to eradicate the vermin that is humanity. Their mode of transport is a giant canon which lofts their capsules through space toward the countryside around England. A more plausible method than it would at first seem.

They set up housecleaning upon arrival, devastating the greatest city in the world and its environs in a matter of days. England, the nineteenth-century superpower, is helpless in the face of superior Martian technology. The surviving humans find themselves taking on the role of vermin after all, scurrying underfoot of the Martians, scrabbling for an existence. In the end, however, the Earth defends her own in a manner which gives meaning to the quote I've taken as the title of my review.

The story is told in first person, and the narrator manages to witness most of the important events himself. This conceit is aided by the contrivance of the narrator reporting the experiences of his brother, who witnessed the remaining important events. Perhaps not the most polished approach to the first person point of view, but if you're not willing to suspend a few modern literary expectations you shouldn't bother reading this book anyway.

The narrator, not to my recollection ever named, is realistic in his reactions to his experiences. The trauma even pushes him toward insanity, a concept well treated by Wells. The narrator also at one point is driven to harm a companion, the effects of which on his mental and emotional state is believably depicted. All in all, this is one of Wells' best performances in characterization.

There are no other major characters (the narrator's wife is almost a shadow). But the portrayal of a populace reacting to extra-terrestrial visitors is credible, and only becomes more so when those visitors become invaders. Wells also does well depicting the post-apocalyptic survivors.

In a day of epic fantasies when it seems the longer the book, the more copies it sells, Wells is refreshingly concise. His diction is simple, and he rarely falls into flowery language that would belie his narrator's voice. The tale is grim, and Wells only pulls the most gruesome of punches. Thus, while we don't actually see what the Martians do with their captives, we do see refugees trampling each other mercilessly as they flee. Only the stretch to cover all events with a first person point of view is disappointing.

If Wells' science, or at least his seemingly prophetic foreshadowing of science, was not as accurate as it is, he would not sit the throne he now does. Not only is inter-planetary travel contemplated in this novel, but lasers and chemical and biological warfare are also employed. The battle is even taken to the air with a Martian flying machine.

If invasion by extra-terrestrials doesn't get you piqued, know that the dual focus of this book also includes the reactions of both society and individuals to life-changing catastrophe. As already mentioned, the psychological impact of an end to human civilization is believably outlined.

Here is the list of Books on Astronomy and Observing:

Title of the book	Author	Publish house
The Astronomy Cafe	Sten Odenwald	Freeman
Atlas of the Universe	Patrick Moore	Cambridge University Press
The Backyard Astronomer's Guide	Terence Dickinson and Alan Dyer	Firefly Books
Celestial Delights: The Best Astronomical Events Through 2010	Francis Reddy	Celestial Arts
Guide to Amateur Astronomy	Newton and Teece	Cambridge University Press
Princeton Field Guide to Stars & Planets	Ian Ridpath & Wil Tirion	Princeton Univ. Pr.
Star and Sky	Robert Burnham	Discovery Communications
Stargazing: Exploring the Stars with Binoculars & Telescopes	John Mosley	Barnes & Noble
Starlight Nights	Leslie Peltier	Sky Publishing
The Universe and How to See It	Giles Sparrow	Reader's Digest Books
Find the Constellations	H.A. Rey	Cambridge Univ. Pr.
Life in Outer Space: The Search for Extraterrestrials	Kim McDonald	Raintree Steck-Vaughan
The Mystery of Mars	Sally Ride & Tam O'Shaughnessy	Crown
The Stars	Zim, Baker, & Chartrand	Golden Books
Atlas of the Moon	Antonin Rükl	Kalmbach Books
Bright Star Atlas	Wil Tirion	Willmann-Bell
Cambridge Star Atlas 2000.0	Wil Tirion	Cambridge University Press
Sky Atlas for Small Telescopes and Binoculars	by David and Billie Chandler
The Christmas Star	John Mosley	Griffith Observatory
Extreme Stars: At the Edge of Creation	James Kaler	Cambridge University Press
History of Earth: An Illustrated Chronicle of an Evolving Planet	William Hartmann & Ron Miller
The Hundred Greatest Stars	James Kaler	Cambridge University Press
Meteorites: A Journey Through Space and Time	Alex Bevan & John de Laeter	Smithsonian
The Moon Book	Kim Long	Johnson Books
Rocks From Space	O. Richard Norton	Mountain Press Publishing
The Beginnings of Western Science	David Lindberg	University of Chicago
Galileo	Michael Sharratt	Blackwell
Galileo in Rome	William R. Shea and Mariano Artigas	Oxford Univ. Press -
Galileo's Daughter: A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith, and Love	Dava Sobel	Penguin
Our Universe: The Thrill of Extragalactic Exploration	S. Alan Stern
Stars of the First People: Native American Star Myths	Dorcas Miller	Pruett Publishing
The Sun in the Church: Cathedrals as Solar Observatories	J.L. Heilbron	Harvard University Press
The Case for Mars	Robert Zubrin
Full Moon	Michael Light
A Man on the Moon	Andrew Chaikin	Penguin
Great Comets	Robert Burnham	Cambridge University Press
Before the Beginning: Our Universe & Others	Martin Rees
A Short History of the Universe	Joseph Silk
Rare Earth	Peter Ward & Donald Brownlee	Copernicus

“Galileo's Daughter: A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith, and Love”, written by Dava Sobel is not only the book about space but a book which will be interesting to a common reader. This book is to immerse us in the details of life in an earlier time. Dava Sobel is able and detailed historical commentary, make clear the extent, all too easily forgotten by modern readers, to which disease, especially bubonic plague, controlled people's lives and journeys four centuries ago. The author possesses great imagination and power to intertain the reader, to my mind. He depicts the characters very vividly. While the central character is Galileo, we see him through colorful, contemporary letters, most written by his admiring and devoted older daughter, Suor Maria Celeste, a Poor Clare nun. The result is that we meet Galileo not "just" as the brilliant natural philosopher and mathematician who laid the foundations of modern experimental science, but as a loving father with constant health and family problems that often distract him from his studies, and vice versa. No doubt that one comes away with a strong impression of the deep religious faith of both Galileo and his daughter and their devotion to one another, particularly in the book's epilogue on the touching discovery made at the opening of Galileo's tomb. For me it is always interesting not only to learn the facts about history , science, space or technology but it is very exciting to read about the people who are or were related to them.

Conclusion: Since the pre-historic times human beings always wondered about the sky above. Even if it wasn’t about its exploration humans used it as an object for beliefs. Almost all pagan cultures defined a sky (space, later) as a haven for gods and goddesses. But as 'the progress' was approaching the humanity, people started to research the environment surrounding them. And they could not leave aside such an object as space. There were several reasons for that. The first one was the natural curiosity of the human being (to what depths it'll lead us?).People always wanted to solve the mystery of the sky. I'm sure that you all know a myth about Icarus and Dedalus where Icarus fell from the sky with his wings burned. So we may say that people feared the sky but at the same time their curiosity made them move forward. The other reasons were as ordinary as they could be. People always wanted to explore new lands and territories. And the sky was (and then space) a huge territory to explore! And of course people wanted to find some resources! They wanted to find more powerful, more energy comprising resources.

Objective 2. History of man and space

In this objective we are to develop an understanding of the history of people’s knowledge of space and to learn about the ways that space has been used to date. We’ll speak about the technologies that are needed for use in space (civilian uses of space).

People’s knowledge of space has not been formed in a day or a year.

Thus it can be easily seen from Vedic literature that the ancient Indians were primarily interested in astronomy for its predictive features, its ability to allow them to forecast, in particular, the rainy season, which was of prime importance to all agricultural communities. The ancient Indians named and divided the sky into sections to enable them to better tell time and the coming of the seasons. Mythology also played a part in Vedic astronomy, as prominent constellations as well as the five planets visible to the Vedics were thought of as gods.

The ancient Indians divided the path of the moon into 27 equal parts called nakshatras, showing the variation of the relative position of the moon in comparison to the rest of the stars visible to the Vedic people. These nakshatras were quite important for determining times of the year, as can be seen in combination with Vedic mythology, and can also be used to determine how far back in history Vedic astronomy extended.

The myth of the god Janus shows both of these factors, the determination of the age of Vedic astronomy and different periods of the year. Janus had four heads, each of which represented a phase of the moon in Sagittarius (one of the nakshatras) which marked the four seasons. One head was the full moon (in Sagittarius) which gave the time of the spring equinox, another was the new moon, during which time the autumn equinox fell, still another was the half waning moon, marking the winter solstice, and finally came the head representing the half waxing moon, during which time came the summer solstice. From current knowledge of the movement of the sphere of stars surrounding the earth, it can be calculated that the observations leading to the myth of Janus were made around 4000 BC. Additionally, within the Rg Veda is a verse observing the winter solstice in Aries, which would have placed it at around 6500 BC. It is possible to date the Rg Veda like this because a complete cycle in the procession of the equinoxes takes place either every 25,870 to 24,500 years according to modern astronomers (the exact time period is still disputed by modern day astronomers), meaning that the moon is only full in Sagittarius during the spring equinox every 25,000 years or so. Modern astronomers, however, were not the first to make the difficult calculations to discover the length of this cycle. The Vedics were able to do this and came up with the value of 25,870 years. How these ancient people were able to make these calculations, however is "as great a mystery as the origin of life itself".

Man models himself after Earth. Earth models itself after Heaven. Heaven models itself after Tao. And Tao models itself after Nature. During the time of Lao Tzu, around 500 B.C, Chinese cosmology focused on the relationship between man and the universe. Even nearly 2500 years later, some historians would look back on ancient Chinese cosmology and recognize the same connection where everything is an integral part, and only a part, of a colossal cosmic pattern. Regardless of the time period in Chinese history we choose to look at, we still find a continuous thread of harmony and balance between man and the universe throughout Chinese cosmology. By combining the basic concepts of Taoism and Confucianism, the ancient Chinese created a traditionally consistent, amazingly accurate, and uniquely harmonious view of the universe.

The Chinese interpretation of the physical orientation of the universe had little philosophical influence. There are many different individual interpretations, but each contain many common basic ideas of universal structure. We know that the Chinese did in fact distinguish between stars and planets, and that they acknowledged the erratic behavior of many celestial bodies. There were primarily three models of celestial orientation. In almost all of interpretations of the heavens, a celestial wind, or vapor, supported the heavenly bodies. This is a very common Chinese concept in which the wind not only suspended the fixed stars in the sky, but also, due to a viscous drag from the earth, caused the backwards motion of the sun, the moon, the five visible planets, and the stars.

Another common perception in Chinese cosmology was the shape of Heaven and Earth. The earth was divided into nine continents, each surrounded by ocean, and further divided into nine provinces.

The Chinese perceived Heaven to be round. They believed that the heart of civilization lay at the center of the earth, and as the land spread out, the lands and its inhabitants became more savage. Naturally, this emphasis on the center point lead to the polar axis as a pivotal aspect of Chinese astronomy.

While the Greeks focused on the constellations on the horizon and created a solar calendar, the Chinese observed the circum polar stars, which lead them to devise a lunar calendar instead. The polar axis which ran from the polar star, south to Earth was the pivot of the heavens. The heavenly vault slid up and down this axis while the earth itself oscillated along it to create the seasons. The stars around the pole were also an integral part of Chinese cosmology. The circumpolar stars were the key constellations to the lunar mansions of the hsiu. At the equator, the Chinese divided the sky arbitrarily into twenty-eight divisions, each corresponding to a equatorial and a circumpolar constellation. Based on which mansion the moon occupied at night, the Chinese created their lunar calendar.

Like many other cosmologies, the Chinese interpretation of the universe was not completely secular.

Ancient Chinese cosmology is more than a cultures interpretation of the universe. It is a definition of a society. The complex overlapping of cosmology, philosophy and propriety illustrates the intertwining of science, religion, and politics in ancient Chinese culture. Because the Chinese were able to create a cosmology that consisted of two opposing popular philosophies, they were also able to integrate it into a rigidly structured society. The ancient Chinese cosmology had a sensible and universal appeal that made it one of the most innovative and unprecedented interpretations in history.

The Aztec world view stems from the idea of four previous suns before the present-day fifth sun. The five suns account for the long Aztec history of the universe. The Aztecs believe in a supreme creator of all, Ometeuctli, often referred to as the lord of duality because he is both male and female. Ometeuctli's cosmic coupling gives birth to four creator-gods, who later create the five suns. Each creator-god struggles for supremacy over the others using his own unique cosmic force--earth, fire, wind, or water. when these cosmic forces are in equilibrium, there exists an age or sun. When the cosmic balance is disrupted, destruction of the sun, earth and man results.

The basic structure of the Aztec universe consists of three levels--the heavens, earth, and underworlds. One's life on earth depends whether one will live in the heavens or underworlds. The Aztec idea of the formation of the universe begins with the first sun. After the destruction of the first sun, four more have been created. Aztecs believe that today they live in the fifth sun, and it ultimately will be destroyed by earthquakes.

Human spaceflight has progressed from the simple to the complex, starting with suborbital flights; subsequent highlights included the launching of a single astronaut in orbit, the launching of several astronauts in a single capsule, the rendezvous and docking of two spacecraft, the attainment of lunar orbit, and the televised landing of an astronaut on the moon.

The early era of space exploration was driven by a space race between the Soviet Union and the US.

The first person in earth orbit was a Soviet cosmonaut, Yuri Gagarin, in Vostok 1 on the 12^th of April, 1961. The American Mercury program had its first orbital success in February of 1962, when John Glenn circled the earth three times. In October of 1964, three Soviet cosmonauts were launched in a Voskhod spacecraft. During the second Voskhod flight in March, 1965, a cosmonaut left the capsule to make the first “walk in space.”

The first launch of the Gemini program, carrying two American astronauts, occurred a few days after the Soviet spacewalk. It was just the beginning…

Not only the USA and the USSR took part in development of space exploration. Thus, China launched its first satellite in 1970 and then began the Shuguang program to put an astronaut into space, but the program was twice halted, ending in 1980. In the 1990s, however, China began a new program, and launched the crewless Shenzhou 1, based on the Soyuz, in 1999. The Shenzhou, like the Soyuz, is capable of carrying a crew of three. In October, 2003, Shenzhou 5 carried a single astronaut, Yang Liwei, on a 21-hr, 14-orbit flight, making China only the third nation to place a person in orbit. A second mission, involving two astronauts, occurred in October, 2005. The table will give a better view:

15 billion years ago	The Big Bang occurred and estimated. The universe began with a cataclysm that created space and time, as well as all the matter and energy the universe will ever hold.
5 Billion Years Ago	Our Solar System Forms: Our sun formed within a cloud of gas in a spiral arm of what we now call the Milky Way Galaxy. A huge cloud of gas and debris surrounded this new star gave birth to planets, moons, and asteroids.
3.8 Billion Years Ago	Life Appeared
8000BC	The Maya make astronomical constructions
4000BC	Egyptians institute the 365 day calendar
2300BC	Chinese astronomers start to observe the sky
2296BC	A comet is observed for the first time by the Chinese
1860 BC	The Construction of Stonehenge.
1800BC	Babylonians begin to keep observational records
1600BC	Chaldean astronomers identify the zodiac
763BC	Solar eclipse observed and recorded by Babylonians
585BC	Thales of Miletus predicted a solar eclipse
500BC	Pythagoras suggests that the Earth is a sphere and not flat, as had been previously assumed
365BC	Chinese spot first moons of Jupiter with the naked eye
350 BC	Aristotle writes Meteorologica, the first book on weather
270BC	Aristarchus says that the Sun is at the center of the Solar System; this is generally dismissed
240BC	What would later become known as Halley's comet is observed by the Chinese
194 BC	Eratosthenes calculates the size of Earth.
120 BC	Hipparchus of Rhodes (161 BC-122 BC, ) Defines the cosmos by latitude and longitude; and makes triangular measurement of celestial navigation.
127	Alexandrian astronomer and mathematician Ptolemy (Claudius Ptolemaeus) publishes Almagest, in which he catalogued 1,022 stars - the previous known number of stars being 850. This was the primary astronomy text for 14 centuries.
1514	Astronomer Nicolas Copernicus suggests that the earth moves around the sun
1609	Kepler publishes Brahe's calculation of the orbit of Mars. Kepler publishes his first two laws of planetary motion
1610	Galileo discovers Jupiter's 4 largest moons.
1664	Isaac Newton experiments with gravity. The Great Red Spot on Jupiter is observed by Robert Hooke.
1666	Isaac Newton develops calculus (fluxions). Cassini discovers the polar ice caps on Mars.
1682	Edmond Halley discovers Halley's comet.
1754	The heliometer, a device designed to measure the diameter of the sun, is invented by John Dollond. It is also used to measure distances between stars.
1762	James Bradley publishes a star catalogue, containing the measured positions of 60,000 stars.
1781	William Herschel discovers Uranus and recognises star systems outside our galaxy.
1840	John Draper makes the first daguerreotype image of the Moon.
1846	The 8th planet, Neptune, is discovered by Johann Galle.
1865	Jules Verne publishes From Here to the Earth, mentioning the exact velocity that the cannon shot the three travelers to the moon (an object must have a velocity of seven miles a second to escape the Earth's gravity).
1895	Konstantin Tsiolkovsky publishes a series of papers describing space flight.
1905	Albert Einstein publishes "theory of relativity."
1906	An explosion at Tunguska, Siberia, is attributed to comet fragments.
1915	Discovery of Proxima Centauri, the nearest star to the Earth (except the Sun).
1924	Edwin Hubble proves that galaxies are systems independent of the Milky Way.
1930	Clyde Tombaugh discovers the 9th planet, Pluto.
1948	The Hale reflector telescope is installed at the Mount Palomar observatory in California.
1949	Rocket testing ground is established at Cape Canaveral.
1951	First space flight by living creatures when US sends 4 monkeys into the stratosphere.
1957	USSR launches the Sputnik 1 satellite into space.
1958	NASA founded.
1959	First pictures of far side of the moon by Luna III.
1961	Yuri Gagarin the first man in space. Alan B. Shephard Jr is the first American in space.
1962	John Glenn becomes first American to orbit earth in space. The first X-ray source is discovered in Scorpius.
1963	Velentina Tereshklova becomes first woman in space in Vostok 6. First quasar discovered.
1965	Soviet astronaut Alexei Leonov makes the first space walk.
1966	Star Trek debuts on NBC. Neil Armstrong and David Scott makes the first space docking in Gemini 8. Luna IX probe lands on the Moon, while Venera III makes a landing on Venus.
1967	Bell and Hewish discover the first pulsar
1969	Neil Armstrong is the first man on the moon followed by Buzz Aldrin.
1970	Apollo 13 forced to abort Lunar Mission when oxygen tank explodes. Crew managed safe return to Earth.
1971	The Russians launch Salyut I, the first orbital space station.
1975	Soviet Soyuz 19 docks with Apollo 18. Venera IX makes a landing on Venus and relays pictures of the planet back to the Earth
1976	Viking I lands on Mars.
1977	Star Wars debuts. Rings around Uranus discovered. The Voyager deep space probes are launched.
1978	Pioneer 1 and 2 reach Venus 1978 James Christy discovers Charon, a moon of Pluto.
1981	Shuttle Columbia launched.
1983	Sally Ride is first US woman in space. Pioneer 10 becomes the first man-made object to travel beyond the solar system.
1986	Soviet Union launches Mir space station. Space Shuttle Challenger explodes, killing all aboard. Voyager 2 reaches Uranus, finding 6 new moons.
1990	Hubble space telescope launched
1991	Helen Sharman becomes the first British astronaut, on Soyuz TM-12.
1992	COBE satellite discovers ripples from the Big Bang. NASA launches the SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) program.
1996	NASA scientist announce the discovery of proof of living organisms on a Mars meteorite in Antarctica.
1997	First ever space funeral when Timothy Leary's ashes is launched into space. US space probe pathfinder lands on Mars. World's first university, where Aristotle and Socrates taught, is discovered in Athens.
1998	Construction started on the International Space Station. Supernova observations suggest that the universe is expanding at an increased rate. Large-scale four-year Russian-American program MIR-NASA is completed. It included nine dockings of the Space Shuttle to MIR station. The U.S. astronauts worked in orbit with the Russian crews for about two years
1999	"Reflector" experiment was conducted on-board Mir space station under a joint Russian-Georgian program, making a start on a new line of activities in the area of building large-diameter antennas (reflectors).
1999 - 1999	for the first time in the world the crew of expedition 27 on Mir observed and recorded from orbit a total solar eclipse.
1999	cosmonaut Sergei Avdeev sets an absolute world record in total space endurance time of 747 days 14 hours 12 minutes (accrued over three missions).
2000	for the first time in the world, a long-duration (75 days) mission to Mir (expedition 28) was carried out on a purely commercial basis by a Russian crew consisting of S.V.Zaletin and A.Yu.Kaleri. This mission laid the foundations for and verified the viability of a further commercialization of space research.
2000	Soyuz TM-31 spacecraft delivered the first international crew consisting of: Russian cosmonauts - spacecraft commander Yu.P.Gidzenko and flight engineer S.K.Krikalev; head of the expedition - NASA (USA) astronaut W.Shepherd, which initiated operation of the International Space Station in the permanently manned mode.
2000	S.P.Korolev Rocket and Space Corporation Energia in one year put into their target orbits 22 various spacecraft, thus setting a sort of a record for one organization. This demonstrated the highest level of organizational management and scientific and technological potential of the company's workforce reached by the end of the 20th century.
2001	the first mission of a space tourist - an American D.Tito - as a member of the first visiting crew (Yu.M.Baturin, T.A.Musabaev) on Soyuz TM-32 spacecraft to the International Space Station, which initiated a new line of activities in the area of manned spaceflight.
2002	New Soyuz TMA modified transport manned vehicle is brought into service. 100 spacecraft have been put into orbit over 25 years since the launch of the first Progress transport cargo vehicle, which completely fulfilled their mission tasks.
2003	Two Yamal-200 telecommunication satellites were first inserted into a geostationary orbit to design points by one launch; after flight tests the satellites were taken into nominal operation.
2003	The Zenit-3SL launch vehicle of middle class with upper stage DM-SL (Sea Launch) was first put into GEO of SC the mass of which is commensurable with spacecraft launched by Proton and Ariane-5 heavy launch vehicles www.energia.ru

Civilian communications satellites have been chiefly a private sector activity since passage of the 1962 Communications Satellite Act . Attempts to commercialize other aspects of space activities have yielded mixed success. Congress has passed several laws to facilitate the commercialization of space launch services for putting satellites into orbit (the 1984 Commercial Space Launch Act, the 1988 Commercial Space Launch Act Amendments, and the 1998 Commercial Space Act). The development of a U.S. commercial launch services industry has been largely successful. DOD and NASA continue to play a strong role in developing new launch vehicles, though private companies are partnering with the government or developing their own. The most controversial issues are the relative roles of the government versus the private sector in developing new systems, ensuring that U.S. companies can compete with foreign launch services companies, and trade and missile proliferation issues involved in exporting satellites to other countries for launch.

All existing achievements of our civilization are grounded on fundamental science studies conducted earlier. For example, internal combustion engines could not have existed without discoveries in such spheres as thermodynamics, molecular physics, electrodynamics, magnetism, organic chemistry, etc.

Now, due to acceleration of scientific and technical progress, the results of scientific research may be applied to technology and every day life approximately within 20-30 years. Some of them have major impact on technical progress.

Fundamental science, studying the Universe plays substantial part in this process. It would suffice to remember, that helium was first discovered on the Sun and only later found on Earth, or that nuclear physics uses some objects in the Universe as a natural laboratory, where Nature itself stages her experiments, impossible in earthly environment. As early as in 1920, long before nuclear physics was created, Arthur Eddington stated that thermonuclear fusion during conversion of hydrogen into helium is the source of star energy. The study of many occurrences in hot plasma is of critical importance for the solution of the greatest energy problem of the Humankind - controlled thermonuclear fusion. It may be carried out in plasma identical to the one in reactor which fills the circumterrestrial space.

Moreover, fundamental space research has powerful direct impact (with which only defense industry can be compared) on technologies development. This happens due to constant experimenters’ demands to increase sensitivity, resolution ability and to improve other scientific equipment parameters.

Fundamental space studies gave a powerful charge to the development of our knowledge of the Universe.

Astronomical Sattelites are satellites used for observation of distant planets, galaxies, and other outer space objects.

Biosatellites are satellites designed to carry living organisms, generally for scientific experimentation.

Communications are an artificial satellite stationed in space for the purposes of telecommunications. Modern communications satellites typically use geosynchronous orbits, Molnia orbits or low Earth orbits.

Miniaturised Satellites are satellites of unusually low weights and small sizes. New classifications are used to categorize these satellites: minisatellite (500–200 kg), microsatellite (below 200 kg), nanosatellite (below 10 kg).

Navigation satetellites are satellites which use radio time signals transmitted to enable mobile receivers on the ground to determine their exact location. The relatively clear line of sight between the satellites and receivers on the ground, combined with ever-improving electronics, allows satellite navigation systems to measure location to accuracies on the order of a few metres in real time.

Reconnaissance satellites are Earth observation satellite or communications satellite deployed for military or intelligence applications. Little is known about the full power of these satellites, as governments who operate them usually keep information pertaining to their reconnaissance satellites classified.

Earth observation satellites are satellites intended for non-military uses such as enviromentsl monitoring, meteorology, map making etc.

Solar power satellites are proposed satellites built in high Earth orbit that use microwave power trasmission to beam solar power to very large antennae on Earth where it can be used in place of conventional power sources.

Space stations are man-made structures that are designed forhuman beings to live on in outer space. A space station is distinguished from other manned spacecraft by its lack of major propultion or landing facilities — instead, other vehicles are used as transport to and from the station. Space stations are designed for medium-term living in orbit, for periods of weeks, months, or even years.

Weather saatellites are satellites that primarily are used to monitor Earth's weather and climate.

    “Kelly Space & Technology has developed a wide array of launch vehicles for both unnmanned and manned missions to space. Utilizing KST's patented tow launch technology, these reusable launch vehicles push the envelope of spacecraft design while dramatically reducing launch risk and cost per pound of payload. KST has space craft to meet any number of needs from satellite launch systems, International Space Station (ISS) resupply, and crew and cargo transport vehicles. This century of space flight will be one dominated by innovative ideas and new ways of thinking, which makes Kelly Space & Technlology one of the leaders of commercial space technology”. (http://www.kellyspace.com)

Some of the most frequently asked questions about space programs are "Why go into space when we have so many problems here on Earth?" and "What does the space program do for me?" These are legitimate questions and unfortunately not enough people have been made aware of the vast benefits the space program provides that increase the quality of our daily lives. Applications on Earth of technology needed for space flight have produced thousands of "spin-offs" that contribute to improving national security, the economy, productivity and lifestyle. It is almost impossible to find an area of everyday life that has not been improved by these spin-offs. Collectively, these secondary applications represent a substantial return on the national investment in aerospace research. We are sure that we should be spending more.

“Out of a $2.4 trillion budget, less than 0.8% is spent on the entire space program! That's less than 1 penny for every dollar spent. The average American spends more of their budget on their cable bill, eating out or entertainment than this yet the benefits of space flight are remarkable. It has been conservatively estimated by U.S. space experts that for every dollar the U.S. spends on R and D in the space program, it receives $7 back in the form of corporate and personal income taxes from increased jobs and economic growth. Besides the obvious jobs created in the aerospace industry, thousands more are created by many other companies applying NASA technology in nonspace related areas that affect us daily. One cannot even begin to place a dollar value on the lives saved and improved lifestyles of the less fortunate. Space technology benefits everyone and a rising technological tide does raise all boats.”( http://www.thespaceplace.com )

We are sure that space technology has improved our lives and benefited mankind in environmental and resource management, health and medicine, industrial productivity and manufacturing technology and public safety and transportation... Only some examples:

WEATHER FORECASTING AID - Space Shuttle environmental control technology led to the development of the Barorator which continuously measures the atmospheric pressure and calculates the instantaneous rate of change.

FOREST MANAGEMENT – there is a satellite scanning system monitors and maps forestation by detecting radiation reflected and emitted from trees.

PLANT RESEARCH - research on future moon and Mars bases is investigating using plants for food, oxygen, and water to reduce the need for outside supplies. This research utilizes Hydroponics (liquid nutrient solutions) instead of soil to support plant growth and finds applications for vegetable production on Earth.

HUMAN TISSUE STIMULATOR - Employing satellite technology, the device is implanted in the body to help patient control chronic pain and involuntary motion disorders through electrical stimulation of targeted nerve centers or particular areas of the brain.

MEDICAL GAS ANALYZER - Astronaut-monitoring technology used to develop system to monitor operating rooms for analysis of anesthetic gasses and measurement of oxygen, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen concentrations to assure proper breathing environment for surgery patients.

WELDING SENSOR SYSTEM - Laser-based automated welder for industrial use incorporates a laser sensor system originally designed for Space Shuttle External Tank to track the seam where two pieces of metal are to be joined, measures gaps and minute misfits, and automatically corrects the welding torch distance and height.

MICROLASERS - Based on a concept for optical communications over interplanetary distances, microlasers were developed for the commercial market to transmit communication signals and to drill, cut, or melt materials.

PERSONAL STORM WARNING SYSTEM - Lightning detector gives 30-minute warning to golfers, boaters, homeowners, business owners, and private pilots.

SELF-RIGHTING LIFE RAFT - Developed for the Apollo program, fully inflates in 12 seconds and protects lives during extremely adverse weather conditions with self-righting and gravity compensation features.

BETTER BRAKES - New, high-temperature composite space materials provide for better brake linings. Applications includes trucks, industrial equipment and passenger cars.

AIDS TO SCHOOL BUS DESIGN - Manufacturer uses three separate NASA-developed technologies originally developed for aviation and space use in their design and testing of a new school bus chassis. These technologies are a structural analysis computer program infrared stress measurement system, and a ride quality meter system.

Nowadays people can’t live without the Internet. It brings you information right to your house, you can read mass media, watch movies, talk with your friends in chats or by e-mail.There is a two-way satellite Internet uses technology, which means up to 5000 channels of communication can simultaneously be served by a single satellite. IP multicasting sends data from one point to many points (at the same time) by sending data in compressed format. Compression reduces the size of the data and the bandwidth. Usual dial-up land-based terrestrial systems have bandwidth limitations that prevent multicasting of this magnitude.

StarBand's System http://www.howstuffworks.com

Some satellite-Internet service still requires you to have a dial-up or cable modem connection for the data you send to the Internet. The satellite data downlink is just like the usual terrestrial link, except the satellite transmits the data to your computer via the same dish that would allow you to receive a Pay-Per-View television program.

Isn’t it interesting! So, we may make a conclusion that space technologies and necessary for people on the Earth as well as technologies and necessary for use in space.

Satellites are miracles of science and innovation. From their spot 36,000 km above the earth, they erase natural, technological and time barriers connecting people to people, to the web, to news, to TV programming and to critical information – bringing the world closer, by far.

Undoubtedly, the passed XX century was marked by incredible achievements, which were not known in the history of the human civilization before. The flight of a human being into space is considered to be a culmination of scientific-technical revolution of the last century.
From this moment on the active exploration of space has started - new spacecraft were designed, automatic vehicles were sent to the planets of the Solar system, space stations were launched into orbit, a human being went into outer space and visited the Moon. The development of space industry has drawn more and more people of different professions in it - i.e. scientists, engineers, designers, test - pilots. But only a few out of the hundreds thousands specialists were given a unique chance to fly to space.
Nowadays the space technologies are gradually transferring from the sphere of experimental and scientific research into the field of practical implementation. And now it's a high time for everyone not only to take use of the satellite communication, but also to fly into the real space without being a professional cosmonaut.
April 28, 2001 has become an official birthday of the space tourism - it was then that the "Soyuz TM-32" space vehicle having had aboard the first space tourist in the world was launched into space from the Baikonur launch site at 11:37 Moscow time. The American millionaire Dennis Tito has spent 7 days in orbit and dedicated his in-flight time to the Earth photographing from space. This mission successfully ended on May 6, 2001 at 9:41 Moscow time, when the descent capsule softly landed in the Kazakh steppes.

"Around 400 people have already been to space.

It's a great privilege for me - to observe the Earth

from space, encircling it every 90 minutes.

My flight into space is not a walk, it is fulfillment

of my life-long dream"( Dennis Tito) ( http://www.atlasaerospace.net/eng/spacefl.htm )

The International Space Station ( ISS) is a unique manned complex in low Earth orbit, consisting of orbital elements delivered by all the partners ( Russia, the USA, ESA countries, Japan, and Canada), as well as of ground-based facilities, which are intended to ensure the ISS operation and maintenance. As the ISS potential is increasing , the station can be used as: a space laboratory for applied and fundamental research and development of new technologies; permanent high inclination observatory in orbit used for observations of the Earth, solar system and Universe as a whole; transportation center, where payloads and spacecraft are located, assembled and readied for delivery of payloads to various destination points; service complex providing payload and space maintenance; space research and engineering center, which enables to expand the commercial potential and stimulate commercial investment in space exploration.

picture from http://en.rian.ru/world/20070130/59917397.html

The International Space Station will likely remain operational until 2025, the head of the Russian spacecraft manufacturer Energia said on February 14,2007, adding that by 2009-2015, Russia will be the only country able to deliver crews to the station. "No one is going to sink or drop the ISS, as all countries realize that the station is becoming a full-scale industrial facility in space. Although it is scheduled for decommissioning in 2015, its operational life could be prolonged until 2025," said Nikolai Sevastyanov. He said Energia has proposed making the station permanent. "If we terminate its existence, it would be hard for mankind to implement such a project anew," he said. Sevastyanov said spaceships destined for the Moon and Mars could be built near the ISS from prefabricated modules sent into orbit by Russian Soyuz, Progress and other booster rockets. He said that Energia is designing a shuttle to link the Earth, the ISS and the Moon, and that by 2009-2015 Russia would be the only country able to send crews to the station. "According to NASA plans, the space shuttles currently being used will gradually be put out of service by approximately 2010," Sevastyanov said, adding that for an uninterrupted cycling of crews, Energia will have to double Soyuz booster rocket production by 2009.

The current ISS crew comprises U.S. astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin, who began working on the world's sole orbital station September 20, and U.S. astronaut Sunita Williams, who replaced the European Space Agency's German astronaut Thomas Reiter in December 2006, and who will stay on board the ISS for another five months. (RIA Novosti, February 2007).

The rapid development of new technologies and their use for military purposes has highlighted the need to solve the problem posed by technological progress toward the weaponization of outer space. If no action is taken, such developments will create a new channel for the arms race, which will have far reaching negative consequences. The most dangerous outcome in the nuclear future would be development and deployment of a space-based echelon of ballistic missile defenses and anti-satellite (ASAT) weapons.

“Early elaboration of an agreement on non-deployment of weapons in outer space should become a priority task for the world community.” ( Vitaly A. Lukiantsev, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Russia. from“ Future Security in Space” by James Clay Moltz.)

Objective 3. Space as an area for military competition.

In this objective we shall try to develop an understanding of possible military uses of space . And we shall learn about the technologies that are needed for use in space.

“We must not let the genie out of the bottle” V. Putin

In 1986 the Department of Defense established an official Military Man in Space (MMIS) Program. The Air Force is the DoD Executive Agent and the Space Division, Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and Plans, Department of the Army is the Army's executive agent. The program was implemented as part of the DoD Space Test Program to evaluate man's ability to enhance military operations from space. DoD holds an annual board to review and prioritize proposed Military Man in Space experiments. Let’s discuss three experiments:

Terra View is a four phased experiment to make observations of ground sites. The first three phases will be conducted on shuttle flights with phase IV leading towards the future space station. The first phase of Terra View determined what Army astronauts could observe from space that is of military value, using cameras and binoculars. The astronauts observed both CONUS and OCONUS training areas. In the second phase of Terra View, the Army augmented the astronauts with communications equipment to allow them to pass information directly to ground commanders in real time. Army Colonel Jim Adamson participated in this portion of Terra View. Phase three will be used by Army experts, instead of astronauts, to observe ground activity and communicate tactical information to the ground commander. This phase encompasses two approved Army MMIS experiments, Terra Scout and Terra Geode. Lessons learned from the site observations and direct communications between the Shuttle and ground sites were used to determine the Army's requirements.

The Army Intelligence Center and School has been developed and is sponsoring Terra Scout. The intent of Terra Scout is to determine what an experienced imagery interpreter can observe of military value from onboard the Space Shuttle. The Shuttle crewmembers used the Spaceborne Direct View Optical System (SPADVOS). The SPADVOS is a developmental device which uses a manual pointing and tracking system with manually controlled zoom lens. This optical system allows the operator to view terrestrial targets with image degradation caused by current systems. On orbit observations will be reported using a UHF SATCOM radio compatible with the Army's PSC-3, UHF radio. The Army selected two Warrant Officers and one Non-Commissioned Officer as primary, backup and alternate payload specialist candidates. Army Astronaut LTC Jim Voss and Payload Specialist CW3 Tom Hennen performed the first phase of Terra Scout during Space Shuttle Mission STS-44 in November 1991.

“The Army Chief of Engineers proposed the use of a military geologist to evaluate terrain conditions for tactical movement in January 1987. Terra Geode is a four phase experiment. Phases I and II results, based on NASA astronauts observations, have helped to refine the experiment design and strengthen justification for an expert observer to fully explore potential applications for military man in space. Phase I was conducted by military astronauts using standard equipment available to NASA under the Earth Observation Program. Phase II observations were conducted by Dr. Kathy Sullivan, a NASA astronaut with a geologic background, during a five day space shuttle mission launched 24 April 1990. She demonstrated the feasibility of terrain analysis from earth orbit and was able to make basic observations of the ground targets, determine soil color, type, ground cover, and other terrain data. She also provided guidance for improving the conduct of the next phase of the experiment. Dr. Sullivan completed Phase II of Terra Geode during another shuttle flight into space in 1992. Phase III will be carried out by an Army geologist on the Shuttle. This will be the demonstration and validation phase that will prove the value of employing the capabilities of a trained expert military observer. Phase IV will propose a space station experiment to evaluate the potential utility for the permanent stationing of military geologist/terrain analysts on the space station. The Army has selected three officers and one warrant officer as primary, backup and alternate Payload Specialists.” (http://www.fas.org/spp/military/docops/army/ref_text/chap09.htm )

Of course there are other large military space projects:

ISRO's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, PSLV-C6, successfully launched CARTOSAT-1 and HAMSAT satellites from Sriharikota(May 5, 2005).

2004- The first operational flight of GSLV (GSLV-F01) successfully launched EDUSAT from SDSC SHAR, Sriharikota (September 20, 2004)

2003- ISRO's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, PSLV-C5, successfully launched RESOURCESAT-1 (IRS-P6) satellite from Sriharikota(October 17, 2003).

Successful launch of INSAT-3E by Ariane from Kourou French Guyana, (September 28, 2003).

The Second developmental launch of GSLV-D2 with GSAT-2 on board from Sriharikota (May 8, 2003).

Successful launch of INSAT-3A by Ariane from Kourou French Guyana, (April 10, 2003).

2002 ISRO's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, PSLV-C4, successfully launched KALPANA-1 satellite from Sriharikota (September 12, 2002).

Successful launch of INSAT-3C by Ariane from Kourou French Guyana, (January 24, 2002).

2001- ISRO's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, PSLV-C3, successfully launched three satellites -- Technology Experiment Satellite (TES) of ISRO, BIRD of Germany and PROBA of Belgium - into their intended orbits (October 22, 2001).

The first developmental launch of GSLV-D1 with GSAT-1 on board from Sriharikota (April 18, 2001)

2000- INSAT-3B, the first satellite in the third generation INSAT-3 series, launched by Ariane from Kourou French Guyana,(March 22, 2000).

1999- Indian Remote Sensing Satellite, IRS-P4 (OCEANSAT), launched by Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C2) along with Korean KITSAT-3 and German DLR-TUBSAT from Sriharikota (May 26, 1999).

INSAT-2E, the last satellite in the multipurpose INSAT-2 series, launched by Ariane from Kourou French Guyana, (April 3, 1999).

1998- INSAT system capacity augmented with the readiness of INSAT-2DT acquired from ARABSAT (January 1998).

1997- INSAT-2D, fourth satellite in the INSAT series, launched (June 4, 1997). Becomes inoperable on October 4, 1997.

(An in-orbit satellite, ARABSAT-1C, since renamed INSAT-2DT, was acquired in November 1997 to partly augment the INSAT system).

First operational launch of PSLV with IRS-1D on board

(September 29, 1997). Satellite placed in orbit.

1996- Third developmental launch of PSLV with IRS-P3 on board (March 21, 1996). Satellite placed in polar sunsynchronous orbit.

1995- Launch of third operational Indian Remote Sensing Satellite, IRS-1C (December 28, 1995).

INSAT-2C, the third satellite in the INSAT-2 series, launched (December 7, 1995).

1994- Second developmental launch of PSLV with IRS-P2 on board (October 15, 1994). Satellite successfully placed in polar sunsynchronous orbit.

Fourth developmental launch of ASLV with SROSS-C2 on board (May 4, 1994). Satellite placed in orbit.

1993- First developmental launch of PSLV with IRS-1E on board (September 20, 1993). Satellite could not be placed in orbit.

INSAT-2B, the second satellite in the INSAT-2 series, launched (July 23, 1993).

1992 INSAT-2A, the first satellite of the indigenously-built second-generation INSAT series, launched (July 10, 1992).

Third developmental launch of ASLV with SROSS-C on board (May 20, 1992). Satellite placed in orbit.

1991- Second operational Remote Sensing satellite, IRS-1B, launched (August 29, 1991).

1990- INSAT-1D launched (June 12, 1990).

1988- INSAT-1C launched (July 21, 1988). Abandoned in November 1989.

Second developmental launch of ASLV with SROSS-2 on board (July 13, 1988). Satellite could not be placed in orbit.

Launch of first operational Indian Remote Sensing Satellite, IRS-1A (March 17, 1988).

1987- First developmental launch of ASLV with SROSS-1 satellite on board (March 24, 1987). Satellite could not be placed in orbit.

1984- Indo-Soviet manned space mission (April 1984).

1983 INSAT-1B, launched (August 30, 1983).

Second developmental launch of SLV-3. RS-D2 placed in orbit (April 17, 1983).

1982- INSAT-1A launched (April 10, 1982).

Deactivated on September 6, 1982.

1981- Bhaskara-II launched (November 20, 1981).

APPLE, an experimental geo-stationary communication satellite successfully launched (June 19, 1981).

RS-D1 placed in orbit (May 31, 1981)

1980- Second Experimental launch of SLV-3, Rohini satellite successfully placed in orbit. (July 18, 1980).

1979- First Experimental launch of SLV-3 with Rohini Technology Payload on board (August 10, 1979). Satellite could not be placed in orbit.

Bhaskara-I, an experimental satellite for earth observations, launched (June 7, 1979).

1977- Satellite Telecommunication Experiments Project (STEP) carried out.

1975-1976 Satellite Instructional Television Experiment (SITE) conducted.

1975- ISRO First Indian Satellite, Aryabhata, launched (April 19, 1975).

Becomes Government Organisation (April 1, 1975).

1972-1976 Air-borne remote sensing experiments.

1972- Space Commission and Department of Space set up

(June 1, 1972). ISRO brought under DOS.

1969 Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) formed under Department of Atomic Energy (August 15, 1969).

1968 TERLS dedicated to the United Nations (February 2, 1968).

1967- Satellite Telecommunication Earth Station set up at Ahmedabad.

1965- Space Science & Technology Centre (SSTC) established in Thumba.

1963- First sounding rocket launched from TERLS

(November 21, 1963).

1962- Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR) formed by the Department of Atomic Energy and work on establishing Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station (TERLS) started.

Space systems provide force multipliers that are increasingly important for sustaining an effective level of defense capability of a country. The global coverage, high readiness, non intrusive forward presence, rapid responsiveness, and inherent flexibility of space forces enable them to provide real-time and near-real-time support for military operations in peacetime, crisis, and across the entire spectrum of conflict.

Space forces are fundamental to modern military operations. They are playing a central role in the ongoing revolution in warfare because of their unique capabilities for gathering, processing, and disseminating information. As demonstrated during the Persian Gulf War of 1991, space systems can directly influence the course and outcome of war. For example, space systems helped confer a decisive advantage upon United States and friendly forces in terms of combat timing, operational tempo, synchronization, maneuver, and the integrated application of firepower.

Are there any advantages?

In the planning phase of military operations, space forces provide enemy order of battle, precise geographical references and elevations, threat locations and characteristics, and accurate cartography and geodesy. Command and control is enhanced by instantaneous communications and coordination of forces, near-real-time surveillance and reconnaissance, meteorological conditions, and situational awareness of the battlefield.

Space forces also provide data that is essential to military forces during the employment phase of military operations. Information provided by space systems may enable precision weapons to strike targets more effectively in any weather, day or night. Forces enroute have access to precise navigation, location, and timing information as well as continuous communications with the command element and other employed forces for coordinated strikes. In addition, space assets enable secure communications among all functions in a military operation. The net result is the ability to efficiently and effectively employ forces to achieve desired objectives with a minimum of casualties and collateral damage.

In short, space-based force multipliers help to improve operational effectiveness, efficiency, and interoperability; maintain high technological superiority; and support worldwide deployment, sustainment, and operations of land, sea, air, and special operations forces. By providing almost global coverage, space forces help to compensate for reductions of forward positioned infrastructure and provide ready.

Space forces also provide unique capabilities for collecting and disseminating information for determining other nations' capabilities and intentions. This includes information for indications, warning, and responding to the threat or use of force against a country, its armed forces, allies, and friends. Space systems perform global monitoring and are often the first to spot impending conflicts, allowing diplomatic actions to avert war. Space systems thus are critical to the ability of the one’s country to sustain a credible deterrent posture which will continue to ensure that the costs of the threat or use of force are unacceptable to a potential adversary.

Space forces also are essential for ensuring that land, sea, air, and special operations forces are capable of conducting operations against adversaries armed with WMD and missile systems. Space systems collect and disseminate information necessary for detecting, identifying, and characterizing threats. This includes nuclear material production, weapons systems transfers, and movements. Space systems support military planning, mission rehearsal, and targeting; detect nuclear detonations; provide launch point determination; ensure command, control, and communications; enable precise navigation, maneuver, and weapons delivery; facilitate smart weapons selection and force coordination; and support mapping, charting, geodesy, and terrain analysis. The force multipliers provided by space forces will enhance the effectiveness of military operations to seize, disable, or destroy WMD and missile systems, as well as provide for the alerting, survival, and protection against hostile missile launches.

Furthermore, space forces improve the effectiveness of active and passive defenses measures. Space systems will support the operations of active defenses which can intercept nonstrategic ballistic and cruise missiles and prevent or limit contamination should the missile be carrying a nuclear, biological, or chemical weapon. Space systems technologies are being investigated to allow cueing of missile defense forces to attacks by cruise missiles. They also will support civil defense of populations and passive defenses of operational forces. Space systems can provide strategic ballistic missile launch detection; limited theater ballistic missile launch detection; approximate impact area prediction; potential target acquisition sensor cueing; battle management, command, control, and communications; and intelligence and missile warning dissemination.

A few words about US space systems and their contribution to global security: Space forces are a comparative national advantage of the United States and are an area within coalition strategy that can contribute unique capabilities for global security. In particular, space systems are capable of performing missions which place a premium on interoperability and the capacity to operate with other nations' forces. Space systems will enable United States and allied land, sea, and air forces to operate jointly in a more efficient and effective manner. They may also provide a means to support political commitments without putting U.S. forces at risk. Moreover, certain space systems provide dual-use capabilities employed by U.S. as well as international civil and commercial users in peacetime.

The exploitation and control of space will help enable the United States to achieve information warfare objectives in a military theater of operation. This could greatly enhance U.S. and allied ability to fight on more favorable terms. The ability to provide C4I support to U.S. forces, and deny such support to an adversary, will enable combatant commanders and operational forces to plan and react faster than an adversary and thereby dictate the timing and tempo of operations. The responsiveness of in-theater exploitation and dissemination of space sensor information is a key factor.

Numerous countries in regions around the world are acquiring or accessing space systems, technologies, and products. Foreign nations and subnational groups are obtaining space capabilities through indigenous efforts, purchases of goods and services, and cooperative activities. The spread of indigenous military and intelligence space systems, civil space systems with military and intelligence utility, and commercial space services with military and intelligence applications poses a significant challenge to U.S. defense strategy and military operations. The spread of space capabilities compounds the dangers to U.S. national security posed by the proliferation of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons, missile systems for their delivery, and advanced conventional weapon systems.

Consequently, DoD must be able to ensure freedom of action in space for friendly forces and, when directed, limit or deny an adversary's ability to use the medium for hostile purposes. To ensure space control, DoD must sustain and improve capabilities to surveil and monitor all militarily significant activities in space. DoD also will continue to design, develop, and operate space systems with ensured survivability and endurability of their critical functions. Moreover, DoD must have capabilities to deny an adversary's use of space systems to support hostile military forces.

In addition to military countermeasures, DoD's strategy to deal with the threat posed by the proliferation of space capabilities with military and intelligence applications includes: actions to strengthen U.S. competitiveness in foreign markets; measures to protect technologies, methodologies, and overall system capabilities which sustain U.S. advantage in space capabilities and promote continued U.S. technological advancements; maintaining controls over significant capabilities which can be sold or transferred to foreign recipients; government-to-government relationships with friendly states involving the sharing of space technology, products, and data; and agreements or arrangements which limit or deny foreign acquisition of, or access to, space systems, technology, products, and data which could provide support to hostile forces.

Major DoD space programs.

Space launch is a key enabling capability for DoD to exploit space. Current U.S. space launch systems, however, do not meet all DoD needs and are becoming increasingly costly to use. A basic question for the past several years has been what level of DoD investment is appropriate to maintain existing capabilities and to provide for future space launch capability given current and expected fiscal constraints.

In order to implement this guidance, DoD is initiating an evolutionary expendable launch vehicle (ELV) fleet program. This program will eventually replace the medium and heavy-lift launch systems currently in the inventory. The program is defining a new relationship with the launch industry emphasizing a measured development effort. DoD seeks to use innovative methods to allow U.S. industry a greater leadership role in free market access to space. The current medium launch vehicle class will be phased out as early as 2001, and the heavy as early as 2004.

The Department recently completed an assessment of the defense related space launch industrial base. The basic conclusion of the assessment was that the industrial base has sufficient capability to meet defense needs today. However, there is significant overcapacity in some portions of the base which will require industry consolidation. Relatively stable commercial/defense demand, the predominantly dual-use nature of the base, and specific actions to meet DoD requirements, such as the ELV initiative, will ensure an adequate industrial base.

Space-Based Infrared Mission Area

After the cancellation of the Follow-on Early Warning System (FEWS), the Department embarked on an intensive study to review the space-based infrared (SBIR) mission area. The goals of the SBIR study were to review infrared requirements needed to protect the United States within the context of two major regional contingencies and intelligence community needs, develop architectures to satisfy those requirements, and make a programmatic recommendation for system acquisition.

The SBIR study was notable in two areas: the process for conducting the study and the results the study produced. The process brought together the various military and intelligence disciplines which use infrared data and developed a comprehensive set of requirements categorized into four areas: missile warning (strategic and theater), missile defense (national and theater), technical intelligence, and battle space characterization. Battle space characterization reflected the needs of the combatant commanders for situational awareness. Previously generated requirements for SBIR systems, new requirements, and those developed by the intelligence community were reviewed, analyzed, and adjusted to reflect current guidance.

The consolidated set of requirements was then used to develop a range of candidate architectures. These included satellite constellations in highly elliptical orbits, geosynchronous orbits, low earth orbits, and various combinations of these orbits. In several cases, requirements which were driving the architectural design were revisited to ensure the validity of the requirement.

Based on the SBIR study, DoD is proceeding with the development of a new high-altitude constellation of infrared detection satellites consisting of both highly elliptical and geosynchronous elements. The planned first launch of this new system is 2002. A flight demonstration of low earth orbit satellites will be conducted to mature this technology and to investigate further phenomonologies in additional infrared frequencies. Furthermore, the high altitude system will be designed to include the capability to integrate a low orbit component if the need arises. Deployment of the low-altitude component may also permit the size of the high-altitude constellation to be reduced.

Military Satellite Communications

The U.S. Army operates and mans the Defense Satellite Communications System (DSCS) for DoD through the Army Space Command at remote sites throughout the world. To update this capability, DoD's primary effort in satellite communications is the Milstar program. Conceived during the Cold War, the program was significantly restructured following the Bottom-Up Review (BUR) to reflect the increased tactical needs of current defense planning. The emphasis of the Milstar program has shifted from the provision of low data-rate, highly survivable communications to medium data-rate communications that will provide survivable, difficult to detect, jam-resistant communications to tactical forces worldwide without reliance on foreign-based ground relays. This new emphasis was embodied in a redesign of the Milstar II system.

The BUR not only addressed the system requirements but also the affordability of the program. As a result, the constellation size for the system was reduced from six to four satellites with a determination to seek a less expensive alternative to the current design beginning late in this decade. The Milstar III program will seek to provide an advanced Extremely High Frequency (EHF) communication system with capabilities similar to the current system on a platform that can be launched on a future medium lift vehicle. The technological refinement required for that design will be pursued in an intensive investment program beginning in 1995.

Despite the decision to pursue this advanced EHF alternative, there remain questions as to what direction military satellite communications (MILSATCOM) should take in the future. Communications are currently spread among three frequency bands on as many as six satellite systems. All these systems will be due for replacement in the middle of the next decade. With affordability a key concern, the Department has initiated an intensive architecture study to determine the best mix of capabilities, including commercial alternatives, to support military satellite communications needs for the next century. The FY 1996 budget reflects a consolidated MILSATCOM strategy to reduce cost and improve operability.

Meteorological Satellite Convergence

DoD, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) completed a study in March 1994 that examined the feasibility of merging the DoD and NOAA operational polar-orbiting environmental satellite programs -- the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program and the Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite (POES) Program -- while capitalizing on NASA's Earth Observing System technologies. This study culminated in the President's May 5, 1994, decision to converge U.S. polar-orbiting operational environmental satellite systems. An Integrated Program Office (IPO) has been created for the planning, development, acquisition, management, technology transition, launch, and operations of the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS). DoD is the lead agency responsible for supporting the IPO in NPOESS system acquisitions. The NPOESS program also carries out a National Performance Review objective of reducing the cost of acquiring and operating polar-orbiting environmental satellite systems, while continuing to satisfy military and civil operational requirements.

The NPOESS will consist of a three-satellite constellation. The need date for the first satellite could be as early as 2004. The preferred architectural option includes a European satellite as one of the three satellites, provided this satellite meets specified U.S. conditions, including the capability to selectively deny critical data to an adversary during crisis or war yet ensure the use of such data by U.S. and Allied military forces. A NOAA-led team which includes DoD and NASA is negotiating with the European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites for provision of the mid-morning satellite of the three-satellite converged constellation. DoD is working closely with NOAA and NASA to ensure NPOESS satisfies national security requirements.

Space support to the warfighter.

Over the past year, space forces have played important roles in every contingency where U.S. forces were engaged. In the former Yugoslavia, for example, multispectral imagery products provide support to U.S. forces which can be used for search and rescue. In Haiti, the UHF Follow-On and Milstar I military satellite communications systems provide operational support to U.S. forces for command and control as well as other functions.

To enhance the contributions of space forces to U.S. military operations, space forces also have been integrated into the Joint and Service exercise schedule. U.S. Space Command (USSPACECOM) components are actively engaged in supporting each combatant commander. Space systems directly supported exercises including Ulchi Focus Lens in Korea, Keen Edge in Japan, Atlantic Resolve in Europe, and Bulwark Bronze with U.S. Strategic Command and North American Aerospace Command. By fully integrating space capabilities into military operations, combatant commanders are better able to tailor their campaign planning and operations to more effectively employ available forces and achieve objectives at the least risk and cost.

To enhance the contributions of space systems to joint warfighting capabilities, USSPACECOM is proposing to establish a Joint Space and Missile Defense Warfare Center at Falcon Air Force Base, Colorado. It will coordinate the efforts of the Services with respect to space applications; integration of joint space operations into doctrine; innovation and application of joint space capabilities; and focused space support to the warfighter. DoD is also actively pursuing advanced applications of space forces through Tactical Exploitation of National Capabilities (TENCAP) programs. The Army's TENCAP program, for example, is currently providing robust, in-theater space support to operational forces. The Army will continue by fielding more advanced and mobile capabilities with direct, in-theater immediate response to the warfighter. The Air Force and Navy sensor-to-shooter efforts currently underway to integrate space system-derived information into aircraft are an additional example of ongoing activities to better exploit the force multipliers provided by space forces. These and other initiatives will improve the exploitation of space capabilities in the planning and conduct of military operations.

Conclusion:

As we can see, space forces are essential for the successful execution of country national security strategy and national military strategy. Space systems provide force multipliers which complement and enhance the capabilities of land, sea, air, and special operations forces. The organizational, operational, and modernization initiatives planned for the coming years will ensure that DoD space forces will retain the capability and versatility to accomplish their missions effectively and efficiently in support of national security objectives.

For years, the U.S. military has explored a new kind of firepower that is instantaneous, precise and virtually inexhaustible: beams of electromagnetic energy. "Directed-energy'' pulses can be throttled up or down depending on the situation, much like the phasers on "Star Trek'' could be set to kill or merely stun.

Such weapons are now nearing fruition. But logistical issues have delayed their battlefield debut -- even as soldiers in Iraq encounter tense urban situations in which the nonlethal capabilities of directed energy could be put to the test.

"It's a great technology with enormous potential, but I think the environment's not strong for it,'' said James Jay Carafano, a senior fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation who blames the military and Congress for not spending enough on getting directed energy to the front. "The tragedy is that I think it's exactly the right time for this.''

The hallmark of all directed-energy weapons is that the target ( a human or a mechanical object) has no chance to avoid the shot because it moves at the speed of light. At some frequencies, it can penetrate walls.

Since the ammunition is merely light or radio waves, directed-energy weapons are limited only by the supply of electricity. And they don't involve chemicals or projectiles that can be inaccurate, accidentally cause injury or violate international treaties.

"When you're dealing with people whose full intent is to die, you can't give people a choice of whether to comply,'' said George Gibbs, a systems engineer for the Marine Expeditionary Rifle Squad Program who oversees directed-energy projects. "What I'm looking for is a way to shoot everybody, and they're all OK.''

Almost as diverse as the electromagnetic spectrum itself, directed-energy weapons span a wide range of incarnations.

Among the simplest forms are inexpensive, handheld lasers that fill people's field of vision, inducing a temporary blindness to ensure they stop at a checkpoint, for example. Some of these already are used in Iraq.

Other radio-frequency weapons in development can sabotage the electronics of land mines, shoulder-fired missiles or automobiles -- a prospect that interests police departments in addition to the military.

A separate branch of directed-energy research involves bigger, badder beams: lasers that could obliterate targets tens of miles away from ships or planes. Such a strike would be so surgical that, as some designers put it at a recent conference here, the military could plausibly deny responsibility.

The flexibility of directed-energy weapons could be vital as wide-scale, force-on-force conflict becomes increasingly rare, many experts say. But the technology has been slowed by such practical concerns as how to shrink beam-firing antennas and power supplies.

Military officials also say more needs to be done to assure the international community that directed-energy weapons set to stun rather than kill will not harm noncombatants.

Such issues recently led the Pentagon to delay its Project Sheriff, a plan to outfit vehicles in Iraq with a combination of lethal and nonlethal weaponry -- including a highly touted microwave-energy blaster that makes targets feel as if their skin is on fire. Sheriff has been pushed at least to 2006.

"It was best to step back and make sure we understand where we can go with it,'' said David Law, science and technology chief for the Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Directorate.

The directed-energy component in the project is the Active Denial System, developed by Air Force researchers and built by Raytheon Co. It produces a millimeter-wavelength burst of energy that penetrates 1/64 of an inch into a person's skin, agitating water molecules to produce heat. The sensation is certain to get people to halt whatever they are doing.

Military investigators say decades of research have shown that the effect ends the moment a person is out of the beam, and no lasting damage is done as long as the stream does not exceed a certain duration. How long? That answer is classified, but it apparently is in the realm of seconds, not minutes. The range of the beam also is secret, though it is said to be further than small arms fire, so an attacker could be repelled before he could pull a trigger.

Although Active Denial works -- after a $51 million, 11-year investment -- it has proven to be a "model for how hard it is to field a directed-energy nonlethal weapon,'' Law said.

For example, the prototype system can be mounted on a Humvee but the vehicle has to stop in order to fire the beam. Using the vehicle's electrical power "is pushing its limits,'' he added.

Still, Raytheon is pressing ahead with smaller, portable, shorter-range spinoffs of Active Denial for embassies, ships or other sensitive spots.

One potential customer is the Department of Energy. Researchers at its Sandia National Laboratories are testing Active Denial as a way to repel intruders from nuclear facilities. But Sandia researchers say the beams won't be in place until 2008 at the earliest because so much testing remains.

In the meantime, Raytheon is trying to drum up business for an automated airport-defense project known as Vigilant Eagle that detects shoulder-fired missiles and fries their electronics with an electromagnetic wave. The system, which would cost $25 million per airport, has proven effective against a "real threat,'' said Michael Booen, a former Air Force colonel who heads Raytheon's directed-energy work. He refused to elaborate.

For Peter Bitar, the future of directed energy boils down to money.

Bitar heads Indiana-based Xtreme Alternative Defense Systems Ltd., which makes small blinding lasers used in Iraq. But his real project is a nonlethal energy device called the StunStrike.

Basically, it fires a bolt of lightning. It can be tuned to blow up explosives, possibly to stop vehicles and certainly to buzz people. The strike can be made to feel as gentle as "broom bristles'' or cranked up to deliver a paralyzing jolt that "takes a few minutes to wear off.''

Bitar, who is of Arab descent, believes StunStrike would be particularly intimidating in the Middle East because, he contends, people there are especially afraid of lightning.

At present, StunStrike is a 20-foot tower that can zap things up to 28 feet away. The next step is to shrink it so it could be wielded by troops and used in civilian locales like airplane cabins or building entrances.

Xtreme ADS also needs more tests to establish that StunStrike is safe to use on people.

But all that takes money -- more than the $700,000 Bitar got from the Pentagon from 2003 until the contract recently ended.

Bitar is optimistic StunStrike will be perfected, either with revenue from the laser pointers or a partnership with a bigger defense contractor. In the meantime, though, he wishes soldiers in Iraq already had his lightning device on difficult missions like door-to-door searches.

"It's very frustrating when you know you've got a solution that's being ignored,'' he said. "The technology is the easy part.'' (from Military Mulls Use of 'Star Trek' Weapons by Brian Bergstein, Associated Press, posted: 13 July 2005)

Russia speaks for broader cooperation with the United States in space exploration, particularly for military purposes.

"We have a set of coordinated cooperation agreements, which we would like to implement as soon as possible. The agreements concern defense technologies and space exploration," Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, said on February 3, 2007. He said that Russia wants to extend its dialog with the U.S. on space by including aspects that "could be linked with plans on military use of space." The United States has its own doctrine that concerns these issues, he said, while Russia is advancing its initiative on the transparency and confidence building in space at the UN. (RIA Novosti, February 2007)

President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, criticized recently U.S. plans for space-based weapons, saying it was the reason behind a recent Chinese anti-satellite weapons test. He said that Russia was against putting any weapons in space.
"At the same time, I would like to note that China was not the first country to conduct such a test," Putin said.
"The first such test was conducted back in the late 1980s and we also hear today about U.S. military circles considering plans of militarization of space. We must not let the genie out of the bottle," president Putin said. Must we?

http://en.rian.ru/world/20070203/60160879.html

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