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Sue Nelson presents the third in a series of discussions about the science behind the news.

Weapons in Space

Ever since Sputnik first beeped its way around a stunned world, space has been a largely peaceful endeavour. But in the background, the threat of war from above ? the ultimate military high ground ? has coloured the huge technological advances.

Today the world economies, telephones, TVs and navigators are utterly dependent on the hundreds of orbiting bundles of electronics above our heads.

Those who seek to keep the world's militaries out of space have had a hard time, yet it is only recently that the spectre of offensive weapons being tested on orbiting satellites has become a hot topic.

Do weapons in space constitute a new and reckless use of valuable international real estate, or are they a legitimate defence of the world?s most vulnerable technology?



First broadcast 27 May 2008