Rescue and Return of Astronauts on Earth and in Outer Space

1969 ◽  
Vol 63 (2) ◽  
pp. 197-210 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Cargill Hall
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Space Flight ◽  
Outer Space ◽  
The United States ◽  
International Standards ◽  
International Consensus ◽  
Legal Principles ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Manned Flight ◽  
Manned Space

The requirement for international standards for rescue and return of distressed astronauts rapidly assumed importance in the first years of the space age, paralleling development of the technology necessary to sustain man in outer space and to permit re-entry of spacecraft through the earth’s atmosphere. The need increased in the early 1960’s when both the United States and the Soviet Union announced inauguration of space flight programs to send men to the moon and return them to earth. It was recognized that, in the continued absence of any firm international consensus on this subject, international friction could be caused by disagreement over procedure to be followed, the nature and extent of states’ obligations, or by differences in interpreting or applying legal principles in the event earth or space rescue and return operations became necessary. These conditions (possible unintentional misunderstanding during manned flight emergencies, swift developments in astronautical science and technology that made manned space flight a reality, and the importance of astronauts in terms of national prestige and subsequent status as “envoys of mankind”) combined to encourage international agreement upon standards for rescue and return by way of direct discussion among states, informal agreement, and, ultimately, conclusion of formal conventions governing this activity; and they discouraged reliance by nations upon principles or practices derived from custom and precedent.

Manned Space Flight

1986 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 354-357 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara J. Woolford
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Human Factors ◽  
Space Flight ◽  
The United States ◽  
Space Craft ◽  
Manned Space Flight ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Space Programs ◽  
Manned Space

An overview of manned space flight is given. This describes the key goals and achievements of the space programs of the United States and of the Soviet Union. The importance of the “Man” in manned space flight is emphasized. Human factors are shown to have played an ever increasing role in the design of manned space craft.

scholarly journals Extending Humanity’s Reach: A Public-Private Framework for Space Exploration

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 75-98
Author(s):  
Jack B. Chaben
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Cold War ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Space Shuttle ◽  
Outer Space ◽  
Space Station ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Space Race ◽  
The Cold War

The Cold War initiated not only rapid weaponization campaigns within the United States and the Soviet Union, but launched a space race between the ideological opponents. The Soviet Union claimed an early victory by becoming the first nation to launch a satellite into space. Despite the United States' rough start, the country triumphed during its Apollo Program to become the leader in space. Treaties and international norms emerged throughout this time to prevent these technologically raging nations from weaponizing the expansive environment of outer space, but the resulting protections against national ownership of space limited incentives for future deep space travel. As the U.S. Space Shuttle program came to an end in 2011, the United States forfeit its capabilities to transport humans to the International Space Station. This apparent abandonment of outer space, however, began to reveal the seminal role of the commercial space industry and its revolutionary technologies. This article traces the transition from the Cold War-era space race to today’s robust public-private expansion into space. It highlights the foundational importance of international cooperation to protect the interests of private companies, and presents a model of cooperative succession between space agencies and companies to send humans to Mars.

scholarly journals In Search of a Legal Solution to the Weaponisation of Space: A Russian Perspective

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yevgeny Zvedre
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Outer Space ◽  
Use Of Force ◽  
Code Of Conduct ◽  
The United States ◽  
Positive Role ◽  
Weapon Systems ◽  
Universal Principles ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
The Common

This article is primarily focused on the diplomatic efforts aimed at preventing the weaponisation of outer space, or development of weapon systems designed to destroy targets, either orbital or terrestrial, or from the ground in outer space. Along with that, a number of anti-satellite weapon projects that both the United States (US) and the Soviet Union/Russia have been developing since the 1950s are briefly described as examples of their military competition in space. Highlighted is the work that has been done within the United Nations (UN) context to develop a corpus of universal principles and norms governing international exploration of outer space as the common heritage of humankind, free from the use of force. The author also highlights the positive role that arms control treaties have been playing in preventing deployment of weapons in space. Particular emphasis is given to the potential consequences for global security should attack weapons appear in outer space, and to the importance of a further targeted effort by the international community to work out additional regulations strengthening space security. In this regard, draft treaties on the prevention of weapons in space introduced by Russia and China, and the European Union’s International Code of conduct for Space are emphasised.

“Star Wars, Eh?”: Canadian Aerospace Policy and the Militarization of Outer Space

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raymond K. MacKinnon,
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Public Perception ◽  
Outer Space ◽  
The United States ◽  
Nuclear War ◽  
Star Wars ◽  
Defence Budget ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Defence Research ◽  
The Military

Canadians rightly pride themselves on their technological achievements in outer space. Heralded as a pioneer with several “firsts” in space exploration, public perception is that Canada explores the “final frontier” in the name of peace. This is the myth perpetuated by scientists and politicians alike, distorting clear evidence to the contrary. This study aims to rectify this fallacy by demonstrating that Canadian space initiatives were a product of Cold War relations, a need for domestic and international security against the threat of nuclear war. Contextualized within the paradigm of a bipolar world, an ostensibly civilian space program only thinly veiled military objectives. Consulting military, political and scientific sources from the end of the Second World War to contemporary conflicts, what emerges is a complex relationship between civilian and military initiatives. Balancing demands from the United States for hemispheric security against the increasing threat of the Soviet Union whilst maintaining sovereignty over Canadian territory presented immense challenges to government leaders. Coupled with a shrinking defence budget, space research fulfilled specific niche roles in Canadian‐American relations. Deconstructing the objectives of prominent satellite programs, Canada‐U.S. (CANUS) agreements, and concomitant government sponsored defence research into theoretical space programs reveals policy marked by the vestiges of war. Peaceful orientations toward outer space perpetuated in historical literature sets a dangerous precedent. Future conflicts will not always pit technologically advanced societies against underdeveloped armies, and ignoring the military advantages of outer space could prove a fatal mistake in confrontations that will assuredly come.Defence in

Main Contents and Comment on the 1967 Outer Space Treaty

2021 ◽  
pp. 15-19
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Outer Space ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Moon ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Celestial Bodies ◽  
Outer Space Treaty

This chapter introduces the ratification by member states and main contents of the 1967 Outer Space Treaty (Title: Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, Including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies). Furthermore, the author explains the reason it the contents of the 1967 Outer Space Treaty should be amended. The treaty was opened for signature in the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union on 27 January 1967, and entered into force on 10 October 1967. As of June 2020, 110 countries are parties to the treaty, while another 23 have signed the treaty but have not completed ratification.

Consular Immunities: the Kasenkina Case (U.S.–U.S.S.R.)

1949 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-56
Author(s):  
Lawrence Preuss
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
The United States ◽  
Legal Issues ◽  
Soviet Government ◽  
Legal Principles ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Legal Case ◽  
The Status

The recent Kasenkina and Samarin affairs, which led to a breach of consular relations between the United States and the Soviet Union, have raised a number of legal issues relating to the status of foreign consular officials. The legal principles involved, however, have been beclouded by widespread misunderstanding of the nature and scope of consular privileges and immunities, by obviously baseless charges made by the Soviet Government against that of the United States, and by the apparent reluctance of the latter to press to its fullest extent a sound legal case.

The UN and Disarmament

1965 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 463-483 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel S. Cheever
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Outer Space ◽  
The United States ◽  
Weapons Of Mass Destruction ◽  
Mass Destruction ◽  
Fissionable Material ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Test Ban ◽  
The Military

In 1964 Secretary-General U Thant asserted that more significant progress in achieving some measures of disarmament has taken place since the summer of 1963 than in all the years since the founding of the United Nations.The evidence cited included five achievements: 1) the coming into force in October 1963 of the Moscow Treaty, a partial test-ban treaty banning nuclear-weapons tests in the atmosphere, in outer space, and under water to which more than 100 states had subscribed by 1965; 2) the establishment of the direct communications link between Moscow and Washington; 3) the resolution of the General Assembly to ban nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction from outer space; 4) the unilateral reductions of the military budgets of the Soviet Union and the United States; and 5) the mutual cutbacks in production of fissionable material for military purposes by these two countries and the United Kingdom.

scholarly journals Iran’s Long Reach

2010 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 114-116
Author(s):  
Amr G. E. Sabet
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
The United States ◽  
Economic Security ◽  
International Consensus ◽  
Global Issues ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
National Security Strategy ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
The Cold War

This short analytical book attempts to serve American decision-maker policychoices with respect to the “pivotal” country of Iran. The pivotal state thesishas sought to organize the United States’ national security strategy after thecollapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the cold war.1Maloney applies itto the Iranian case, given that country’s geostrategic value and significant rolein global issues and negotiations (pp. 4-5). She adopts the thesis’ mainassumption that by investing attention and resources in regional heavyweights,the United States can benefit from the “multiplier” effect of theirweight. Arguing that as the United States seeks to change its strategicapproach toward the region, the author posits that focusing on the Muslimworld’s pivotal states will help prioritize challenges and opportunities andthus better serve its vital interests (p. 5). She proceeds to do so by making thecase for Iran’s crucial importance while outlining what she perceives to be itspolitical, economic, security and theological dilemmas – presumably so thatWashington and its allies can take advantage of them.The study also attempts to examine the shifts from reformist (Khatami)toward more radical (Ahmadinejad) politics in Iran’s domestic scene. Shetraces the reasons why the Iranian “reform movement,” under Khatamifailed and attributes that outcome to self-imposed constraints (redlines), fearof bringing about instability, and the movement’s elitist structure (pp. 12-13). Maloney also points to Ahmadinejad’s “perverse” but “compelling”incentive to preserve the long-standing antagonism toward the UnitedStates. She expresses her concern that such shifts may serve to undermineany remaining international consensus necessary to address “problematicelements of Iran’s foreign policy” (p. 23) ...

Agreement on the Rescue and Return of Astronauts and Objects Launched into Outer Space

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irmgard Marboe
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Outer Space ◽  
The United States ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Law Of The Sea ◽  
Emergency Situations ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Space Objects ◽  
The Law

The Agreement on the Rescue and Return of Astronauts and the Return of Objects Launched into Outer Space (ARRA) of 1968 deals with the obligation of states toward astronauts in distress or in emergency situations and with the obligation to return space objects. It is the second of the five United Nations space treaties, after the Outer Space Treaty (OST) of 1967 and before the Liability Convention (LIAB) of 1972. The historical development of ARRA and how this agreement reflects the needs and interests of the two important space-faring nations at the time of its entry into force, the United States and the Soviet Union, are important factors for understanding the space race. ARRA is related to the OST and regards the various obligations of states concerning rescue and assistance as well as the return of astronauts, which stand in the middle between a general humanitarian duty and political and national security considerations. The return of space objects and the question of costs of rescue and return operations are important concerns and can be compared to the situation with the law of the sea, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) of 1982 and the Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules of Law Respecting Assistance and Salvage at Sea (Salvage Convention) of 1989. ARRA has never been applied with respect to accidents or distress of astronauts or cosmonauts but several times with respect to the recovering and returning of space objects. Finally, current challenges, such as the commercialization and privatization of outer space activities need to be addressed. This includes the increased interests of private individuals to enter outer space (so-called space tourism) and the question of the application of the ARRA to suborbital flights. Many legal challenges created by technological progress can be resolved via an evolving interpretation and application of the ARRA. Yet, some issues might warrant a new legal framework.

Nuclear Weapons in Outer Space

1965 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 3-35
Author(s):  
A. E. Gotlieb
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Nuclear Weapons ◽  
Outer Space ◽  
The United States ◽  
Scientific Achievement ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
The World

In the Latter Part of the last decade, when it began to become apparent that vehicles or devices carrying nuclear weapons could be made to enter into outer space and orbit around the earth's contours, both the United States and its allies and the Soviet Union began to put forward proposals for restricting or prohibiting such operations.The crucial year was 1957 — the year in which the Soviet Union launched its first sputnik in outer space. This scientific achievement, followed in 1961 by the advent of manned orbital satellites, made it apparent to the world at large and the lawyers among them that outer space could be utilized by man for his own purposes — and that these might not necessarily be peaceful ones.

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