From Space Debris to Space Weaponry: A Legal Examination of Space Debris as a Weapon

Outer space represents an emerging and rapidly evolving domain that, until now, has remained free from armed conflicts. However, the stark reality is that the prospect of an arms race in space is no longer confined to dystopian imagination. This change in the environmental factual circumstances is substantiated by NATO's formal recognition of space as an operational domain and the renewed calls for a Treaty to Prevent an Arms Race in Space. Additionally, the symbolic characterization of space as the ‘final frontier’, as numerous scholars have described it, highlights the urgent need for analysis of the potential weaponization of the outer space domain. Various potential weapons could be deployed in outer space. However, the primary objective of this paper is to investigate whether space debris in the highly commercialized and overpopulated Low Earth Orbit (LEO) could be weaponized. The example we focus on relates to the Kessler Syndrome and space debris generated by the use of (cyber) weapons. The central message of this paper is that the potential triggering of Kessler Syndrome by creating space debris using space weapons should be considered an internationally wrongful act. Therefore, it should be taken into account during weapons reviews under Article 36 of Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions (AP I). Moreover, the paper concludes that, in the context of the examined scenario and the rise of private entities within the space sector, it is also necessary to re-evaluate the legal framework regarding liability and responsibility in outer space as it relates to the triggering of the Kessler Syndrome.