Happy Dog Takes on the World: Space, the Final Frontier - for War?

The Outer Space Treaty of 1967 provides the basis for international space law. Its focus is on preventing the weaponization of space - from restricting nations' ability to claim celestial resources to prohibiting the testing of weapons of mass destruction in space.

This concern over the weaponization of space dates from the Cold War, the race to the moon, and President Reagan's proposed Strategic Defense Initiative, nicknamed "Star Wars." The laws of space still apply to the more than 1,300 active satellites currently orbiting the globe and to the recent successful test of the U.S. military's Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) designed to intercept intercontinental ballistic missiles.

Space remains such an important defense category that the Obama Administration budgeted more than $5 billion toward the defensive and offensive capabilities of the U.S. military space program. But do these 1967 laws still make sense? Can the existing laws around space continue to be enforce? Are there step that can be taken to prevent a space arms race? is space the next frontier for war?

Join us, the Cleveland Council on World Affairs, Global Cleveland, International Partners in Mission, and the Northeast Ohio Consortium for Middle Eastern Studies (NOCMES) for a free discussion on the conflict, space, and international law.