United Nations General Assembly hall. Photo: Patrick Gruban.

The United Nations General Assembly recently adopted a number of draft resolutions about space weapons and space norms, voting to approve a draft resolution against anti-satellite missile tests. 

The assembly voted to adopt a draft resolution calling on member states to not conduct direct-ascent anti-satellite (ASAT) missile tests, and to “develop further practical steps and contribute to legally binding instruments on the prevention of an arms race in outer space.”

Russia and China voted against the adoption, according to a UN press release. 155 voted in favor, and Belarus, Bolivia, Central African Republic, China, Cuba, Iran, Nicaragua, the Russian Federation, and Syria voted against. India, which conducted an ASAT test in 2019, was one of 9 countries that abstained. 

Russia conducted an ASAT test in November 2021 against one of its own defunct satellites in orbit, leading to calls to ban ASAT tests. The U.S. committed earlier this year to refrain from ASAT missile testing in an effort to set an international norm for responsible behavior in space, and other countries have joined the pledge, including France earlier this month. 

China has the operational direct ascent ASAT missile capabilities to target satellites in Low-Earth Orbit, and the U.S. intelligence community believes China likely intends to develop a similar system to target satellites in GEO, according to Travis Langster, the U.S. Department of Defense principal director of space and missile defense policy, who recently spoke about China’s space capabilities. China conducted an ASAT test in 2007.

The UN Assembly stressed the importance of these political statements against ASAT tests, and called on member states to “remain vigilant in understanding [developments] in science and technology that could imperil international security.”

Without a vote, the assembly also adopted a draft resolution calling on all member states to “contribute actively to the objective of the peaceful use of outer space and to the prevention of an arms race in outer space.”