Figure 5.5 Political and Legal Tasks for Demo (1,2,3) Remarks: DEMO1 Earliest start: Jan 1994 Latest finish : Jul 1996 DEM02 Earliest start: Jan 1996 Latest finish : Jan 2007 DEM03 Earliest start: Jan 2007 Latest finish : Jan 2017 Registration takes place 6 months before each launch. Top-level governmental approval requested for DEM03 Orbit selection not requested for DEM01 Figure 5.6 Long Term Political and Legal Tasks Remarks: DEM04 Earliest start: Jan 2019 Latest finish: Jan 2027 First Space Station Earliest start: Jan 2030 Latest finish: 2039 5.4 Security Issues According to a Gallup survey taken in the late 1980's, the Japanese economic threat was considered more serious than the Soviet military threat by the American public. As clearly indicated by this example, the end of Cold War has shifted the world focus from military activities to economic concerns, from the arms race to industrial competition. Moreover, in recent years, industrial competitiveness issues have become closely intertwined with remaining national security considerations. The world's focus in terms of national security has also shifted from the former Soviet Union and Eastern European nations to the politically unstable Middle East. The Gulf War, which was caused by Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990, highlighted the danger of militarily sophisticated, politically unstable governments. Large scale conflicts are giving way to regional conflicts which often involve nations outside the region of conflict. In this respect, the transfer of military technologies to politically unstable nations can be threatening to international security. Besides the clear economic threat and any new military threat, there is also some danger involved in increasing global interdependency through a global technological network. In this section, security issues associated with a solar space power program are discussed. This part is divided into three sections. The first section is concerned with technology transfer. There are two issues identified under technology transfer through the ISPO. One is the military threat of politically unstable nations. The other is the economic threat of industrial competitors. The second section examines the increased vulnerability and interdependency among participating nations due to the technological characteristics of a space solar power program. Finally the final section provides some tentative solutions for dealing with potential security issues as discussed.
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