Militarisation of Space

The militarisation of space is the placement and development of weaponry and military technology in outer space. The early exploration of space in the mid-20th century had, in part, a military motivation, as the United States and the USSR used it as an opportunity to demonstrate ballistic missile technology and other militarisable technologies. Outer space since has been used as an operating location for military spacecraft such as imaging and communications satellites, and some ballistic missiles pass through outer space during their flight. As yet, however, weapons have not been stationed in space, with the exception of small handguns carried by Russian cosmonauts.