A significant degree of the current political frictions between China and Russia on the one hand and the United States on the other has arisen due to the conquest of space. NASA’s ‘Satellite Situation Report‘ estimates that there are roughly 25,000 man made objects currently orbiting our planet. Very recently both the United States and China have launched missiles into space that have subsequently destroyed satellites. Despite varying degrees of international condemnation both countries confirm that they are committed to the peaceful development of outer space.
Britain’s entrance into the furore of space politics was not without controversy. Previously Britain had relied heavily upon the American satellite system for intelligence but during the Falkland’s war Britain realised that this system was not sufficient for their needs. Consequently the country planned to launch it’s first spy satellite to intercept radio signals from Russia and Europe, codenamed Zircon. The Zircon project was eventually canceled in 1987 due to spiraling costs. However a journalist named Duncan Campbell that was working for both New Statesman Magazine and the BBC unearthed some information that the Zircon project had been hidden from Parliament, and estimated it was costing the government £100 million a year. The BBC became increasingly nervous about the content of a documentary that Campbell was producing regarding Zircon and after consultation with the government shelved the project on the grounds of national security. Despite this fact Campbell went on to publish the documentary’s findings in New Statesman and the secret Zircon project then became public knowledge.
Special Branch and the Police raided BBC offices in Glasgow and Duncan Campbell’s home. The contents of the documentary were obtained by opposition MP Robin Cook who planned to show the video to MPs in the House of Commons. The Attorney General managed to place an injunction on the showing of the video and public interest in the whole affair began to disappear. The whole debacle serves to illustrate how sensitive the issue of civil rights and space politics can be.
The Spoken Word has two programmes on the Zircon Project:
This programme contains highlights from an intense Prime Minister’s Question Time in which Margaret Thatcher is attacked by opposition parties for her role in the Zircon Affair.
This is a video programme that shows the beginning of the original Zircon documentary that was banned under the Official Secrets Act on the grounds of National Security.
Photographs Courtesy of: picadillywilson and Huzhead
