World’s Outer Space Treaty Came 55 Years Ago

First and largest nuclear detonation in space played a role

An aerial view of the aurora created by the Starfish Prime nuclear test (Los Alamos National Laboratory)

On November 15, Russia fired an anti-satellite missile at one of its old satellites. When hit, the satellite shattered into hundreds of thousands of pieces, of which only 1,500 or so are trackable. The only international treaty governing humanity’s activities in outer space turns 55 this…