Res Communis

New START Treaty Signed

by P.J. Blount with the blog faculty

The new START treaty between the United States and Russia has been formally signed. This treaty has implications for space activities due to the fact that it regulates ICBM that are found at “space launch facilities.” The substantive information on these limitations can be found in the attached Protocol to the treaty:

73. (28.) The term “space launch facility” means a specified facility from which objects are delivered into the upper atmosphere or space using ICBMs or SLBMs.

and

Section VI. Space Launch Facilities
For each Party, the numbers of non-deployed ICBMs and nondeployed SLBMs, and non-deployed launchers of ICBMs and nondeployed launchers of SLBMs, at space launch facilities, and the data on space launch facilities, are as follows:

The actual limitations are not included in the released text of the protocol.

Other resources:

A New START in Prague – White House Blog

The New START Treaty and Protocol – White House Blog

New START Treaty signed – Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces

Treaty Signings – Arms Control Wonk

New Nuke Treaty: Trust, but Verify – Danger Room

A New START Treaty and Protocol – Opinio Juris