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Bush signs tough new space policy US President George W Bush has signed an order which asserts the US right to block access to space to any country or group deemed hostile to its interests. The document says the US is determined to protect its interests in outer space and will defeat any adversary who threatens them. The order rejects any proposals to ban space weapons. But the White House said the policy document was not a prelude to putting weapons in orbit. Freedom of action However, military experts warn that by refusing to enter into negotiations on space weaponry, the US is likely to fuel international suspicions that it will develop such weapons. The document was the first revision in US space policy for 10 years. President Bush authorised the policy in August but it was not released until October. Declassified elements of the document have been posted on the US government's science and technology website. The policy states the importance of space militarily to the US. "Freedom of action in space is as important to the United States as air power and sea power," it says. The document also sets out US commercial ambitions in space, saying it is committed to encouraging and facilitating a growing entrepreneurial space sector. During the Cold War, President Ronald Reagan proposed a defence shield using laser or particle beam technology to "intercept and destroy" incoming nuclear missiles. The Strategic Defence Initiative, or "Star Wars" programme as it came to be known, was abandoned in 1993.
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