Space lawyers were born on Oct. 10, 1967, when the “Treaty on
Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use
of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies,”
commonly called the Outer Space Treaty, went into effect just over 10
years after the launch of the first artificial satellite, Sputnik I.
The terms of the treaty were agreed upon in 1966, and the treaty was signed by the United States, the Soviet Union and Great Britain on Jan. 27, 1967; 101 countries have ratified the treaty, and 26 others have signed but not yet ratified it.
The treaty established the framework for space law along several principles:
• Exploration of space is for the benefit of all countries and it is the province of all mankind.
• Outer space is free for all nations (states) to explore, and no nation can appropriate it by claims of sovereignty.
• No nuclear or other weapons of mass destruction can be placed in orbit or on celestial bodies.
• The Moon and other celestial bodies are exclusively reserved for peaceful purposes.
• Astronauts are considered envoys of all mankind.
• Nations are responsible for national space activities whether performed by government or private entities.
• Nations are liable for damage caused by their space objects.
• Nations shall avoid contamination of space and celestial bodies.
The treaty is managed by the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), which was established in 1958 as the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space. Mazian Othman of Malaysia is the eighth director of the office and has served since 2007; she was also director from 1999 to 2002. The only American director was NASA Administrator Marvin Robinson; he was the third director, serving in 1982-83.
The primary criticism of the 1967 treaty is that by declaring all of outer space a common heritage for mankind, it essentially made all of space outside the Earth’s atmosphere a wilderness preserve. The treaty removed incentive for nations or private companies to explore, claim and colonize space for exploitation and expansion. In this analysis, there is no frontier to tame, only a cosmic park for photographic safaris.
The recent excitement over the Curiosity landing on Mars represents the latent interest in space exploration, but critics point to the virtual absence of space exploration activity since the treaty came into effect 45 years ago. Certainly, there has been significant use of space for communication, mapping, research and governmental spying activities; yet, no manned exploration efforts have been attempted since the United States mothballed the Apollo program.
As professor John Hickman writes in his criticism of the treaty, “Humanity has done a fine job of confining itself to Earth and low Earth orbit and of undertaking only sporadic and anemic space exploration of other celestial bodies with unmanned vehicles.”
Proponents have only to point to the genesis of the treaty to illustrate the dangers of an unfettered race to space, when there was widespread fear that nuclear weapons would be positioned in orbit and that governments would usurp space for military purposes, leaving commercial exploration and development out of the picture.
The Outer Space Treaty has no significant penalties for withdrawal. Signatories only must give one year’s notice of intent to leave the treaty.
The terms of the treaty were agreed upon in 1966, and the treaty was signed by the United States, the Soviet Union and Great Britain on Jan. 27, 1967; 101 countries have ratified the treaty, and 26 others have signed but not yet ratified it.
The treaty established the framework for space law along several principles:
• Exploration of space is for the benefit of all countries and it is the province of all mankind.
• Outer space is free for all nations (states) to explore, and no nation can appropriate it by claims of sovereignty.
• No nuclear or other weapons of mass destruction can be placed in orbit or on celestial bodies.
• The Moon and other celestial bodies are exclusively reserved for peaceful purposes.
• Astronauts are considered envoys of all mankind.
• Nations are responsible for national space activities whether performed by government or private entities.
• Nations are liable for damage caused by their space objects.
• Nations shall avoid contamination of space and celestial bodies.
The treaty is managed by the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), which was established in 1958 as the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space. Mazian Othman of Malaysia is the eighth director of the office and has served since 2007; she was also director from 1999 to 2002. The only American director was NASA Administrator Marvin Robinson; he was the third director, serving in 1982-83.
The primary criticism of the 1967 treaty is that by declaring all of outer space a common heritage for mankind, it essentially made all of space outside the Earth’s atmosphere a wilderness preserve. The treaty removed incentive for nations or private companies to explore, claim and colonize space for exploitation and expansion. In this analysis, there is no frontier to tame, only a cosmic park for photographic safaris.
The recent excitement over the Curiosity landing on Mars represents the latent interest in space exploration, but critics point to the virtual absence of space exploration activity since the treaty came into effect 45 years ago. Certainly, there has been significant use of space for communication, mapping, research and governmental spying activities; yet, no manned exploration efforts have been attempted since the United States mothballed the Apollo program.
As professor John Hickman writes in his criticism of the treaty, “Humanity has done a fine job of confining itself to Earth and low Earth orbit and of undertaking only sporadic and anemic space exploration of other celestial bodies with unmanned vehicles.”
Proponents have only to point to the genesis of the treaty to illustrate the dangers of an unfettered race to space, when there was widespread fear that nuclear weapons would be positioned in orbit and that governments would usurp space for military purposes, leaving commercial exploration and development out of the picture.
The Outer Space Treaty has no significant penalties for withdrawal. Signatories only must give one year’s notice of intent to leave the treaty.
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