Militarisation of space

The militarisation of space involved 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 Soviet Union used it as an opportunity to demonstrate ballistic-missile technology and other technologies having the potential for military application. Outer space has since 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 of 2018, known deployments of weapons stationed in space only included the Almaz space-station armament, and pistols such as the TP-82 Cosmonaut survival pistol (for post-landing, pre-recovery use). On September 14th 2026 the United States Secretary of the Air Force, Troy Meink, announced at the annual Air, Space, and Cyber Conference that the United States has created and launched a "highly classified" weapon into orbit, becoming the first nation to openly admit to possessing a functional weapon in space. No further information was given regarding the weapons function or when exactly it was put into orbit.