Thursday, May 19 2005 11:55 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Washington: The United States has said that it was not looking at weaponising space, contradicting a media report stating that the US Air Force (USAF) was seeking presidential authority leading to such a programme.

"What we are talking about is not looking at weaponising space" but wanting to make sure that US space systems were protected, White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan said yesterday (May 18, 2005).

McClellan said the Bush administration wanted to ensure that its space assets were protected, adding that an updated national space policy was currently going through the interagency review process.

The review was initiated, he said, because the last one was done eight years ago.

"Certainly during the last eight or nine years there have been a number of domestic and international developments that have changed the threats and challenges facing our space capabilities. And so the space policy needed to be updated to take into account those changes," he said.

A New York Times report yesterday had said that the USAF was seeking a national security directive from President George W Bush that could lead to putting up weapons in space.

Placing weapons in space is banned under the Antiballistic Missile Treaty. The US withdrew from the treaty in 2002.