© Reuters/Mike BrownUSAF satellite mission lifts off at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station
The military bloc's new space policy, which has just been unveiled, calls for using outer space the same way as land, sea, air or cyberspace. Not many details are known about the strategy, but a major question arises here - is the world's biggest military alliance giving itself free rein to deploy weapons into orbit, just like the leeway it permits itself when it comes to dozens of non-NATO countries?
Mikhail Khodarenok, a Russian military expert and retired air defense colonel, believes that it will take some time until NATO creates a viable space force. No country will deploy weapons in space in the short term, because "anti-satellite devices are currently under development in all of the major countries," he told RT.
However, it doesn't mean that the militarization of Earth's spheres of orbit won't ultimately come true. "The US is likely to become pioneers in this area," the expert suggested, adding that China, Russia and India will follow. "Militarization of space is inevitable in the foreseeable future."
As for NATO, it "doesn't play any independent role" in outer space, mainly because designing and sending weapons into outer space is an American prerogative. Thus, the alliance is simply following the US' suit in publishing its policy.
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