UPSC Mains 2014 · GS Paper III · Q17

UPSC Mains 2014 GS Paper 3 Q17: model answer

International civil aviation laws provide all countries complete and exclusive sovereignty over the airspace above their territory. What do you understand by ‘airspace’? What are the implications of these laws on the space above this airspace? Discuss the challenges which this poses and suggest ways to contain the threat.

12 marks200 wordsDirective: Suggest

What the question wants

Explain what airspace is, what sovereignty over it means for the space above it, the challenges that creates and how to contain the threat.

How to structure it

Define, law, gap above, threats, solutions.

Airspace and Chicago Convention
No sovereignty in outer space
Implications and challenges
Ways to contain

How to think it through

Airspace: space above territory and territorial waters (12 nm); Chicago Convention 1944 Article 1 complete and exclusive sovereignty. No agreed upper limit; Karman line ~100 km used. Outer Space Treaty 1967: no national appropriation; free use. Implications: satellites can fly over freely; surveillance; ASAT; space weapons; debris; near space/HAPS/balloons (Chinese balloon 2023 US); hypersonic glide; drones. India: Mission Shakti 2019 ASAT, Defence Space Agency 2019, DSRO, SSA (NETRA). Contain: define upper limit, space traffic rules, PAROS, space situational awareness, deterrence, international law.

Model answer

In February 2023, a large Chinese balloon drifted across the United States at about 18 km, above the height of passenger jets but far below satellites. It forced a basic question: where does a country's sky end?

What 'airspace' is

The air above a country's land and territorial waters (12 nautical miles).
Under Article 1 of the Chicago Convention, 1944, every state has complete and exclusive sovereignty over it.

Implications for the space above

There is no agreed upper limit of airspace; the Kármán line at about 100 km is often used.
Above that, the Outer Space Treaty, 1967 says space is free for all and cannot be claimed.
So satellites can pass over India freely, including spy satellites of rivals.

Challenges this creates

Surveillance from space of military sites.
Anti-satellite weapons that can blind a country's communications.
Space debris threatening satellites.
'Near space' objects like balloons and high-altitude drones in a legal grey zone.
Hypersonic weapons that travel through both zones.

Ways to contain the threat

An international agreement on where airspace ends.
Space situational awareness: India's Project NETRA to track objects.
Deterrence: India's Mission Shakti ASAT test (2019) and the Defence Space Agency (2019).
Push for PAROS talks at the UN on preventing an arms race in space.
Resilient satellites and backup systems.
Rules for space traffic management. The sky has a ceiling in law only on paper;

India must guard the floor and watch the ceiling.

Draw: A vertical layer diagram: airspace (sovereign), near space (grey zone), outer space (free).

Keywords, cases and data to drop in

airspace, Chicago Convention 1944 Article 1, territorial waters 12 nm, Kármán line 100 km, Outer Space Treaty 1967, near space, Chinese balloon 2023, ASAT, Mission Shakti 2019, Defence Space Agency, Project NETRA, PAROS, space debris.

Where most answers lose marks

Writing only about drones and aircraft; the question is about the space above airspace.

Fresh examples from current affairs

Snow-capped peaks above a lake at Sela Pass in Arunachal Pradesh

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Question text as printed in the official UPSC Civil Services (Main) question paper. The model answer is original Battle IAS work; use it to learn structure, not to memorise.

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