Outer Space Treaty. The Outer Space Treaty was good, but is it right for our times? Mining from space
In 2016, American astronaut Ronald Garan wrote the book “No Boundaries Visible from Space.” Its message is very simple - looking at the planet from the window of the International space station, political boundaries seem like archaic rudiments that make no sense.
But we will return to Earth and look back into the starry distances. Like any territory surrounding us, this space has not been spared legislative regulation. We tell you what rules apply outside our planet and why they are needed.
Space and its constitution
The main set of “extraterrestrial” laws is the “Treaty on the principles of the activities of states in the exploration and use of outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies.” A monstrous name, which is why the agreement is simply called the Outer Space Treaty.
It was signed at the height of the Cold War, in 1967, by three powers: the USA, the USSR and the UK. Now the terms of the agreement have been accepted by about 100 countries.
However, the first attempts to figure out who will own what in space were made even earlier - the UN Office for Outer Space Affairs was formed back in 1958.
"No!" war and private property
Everything was started for the sake of execution simple principles: space must remain a world heritage, and not a weapons testing site or national domain.
The outer space treaty has only 17 articles - the creators tried to avoid bureaucratic redundancy. Most provisions regulate the peaceful status of space: for example, the Moon and other celestial bodies cannot be occupied or used as a military base.
Prohibited and posting nuclear weapons in orbit.
In addition, it is fixed special status astronauts- participating states undertake to assist them in the event of emergency situations. At the same time, the manned satellites themselves and their crew remain under the jurisdiction of the country that carried out the launch.
The only exception is this is the ISS: the fate of her team, in case of violations implying criminal liability, will be decided by a special advisory council.
One of the main points of the agreement is the obligation of the participating country to monitor the implementation of the rules not only government agencies, but also by private companies. IN last years, with the flourishing of the commercial space industry, this issue has become especially acute.
Mining from space
There are very few space lawyers, but before them big tasks. For example, companies like Planetary Resources and Deep Space Industries intend to conduct mining operations on asteroids.
In turn, Moon Express wants to mine minerals on the Moon. In 2015, the United States passed a law according to which companies are assigned ownership of materials mined in space - supposedly this does not contradict the Treaty.
However, the situation is complicated because the decision has not been agreed upon with the other powers.
After all, the stakes are high. For example, the lunar crust contains reserves of iron, titanium, aluminum, magnesium, sulfur, potassium, and sodium. The main asset of the satellite is considered to be deposits of the helium-3 isotope.
Its scope of application is energy; it is excellent as fuel for thermonuclear reactions. And don’t forget about the asteroids scurrying back and forth. They often contain a large number of valuable metals such as gold, cobalt, osmium, palladium, platinum.
For example, for the entire 2014, only 161 tons of platinum were mined in the world ( The leader, by the way, is the Russian Norilsk Nickel). More can be extracted from a huge metal block with a diameter of one and a half kilometers. It is not surprising that the estimated value of some asteroids reaches $20 trillion.
Again, for comparison, global debt as of 2017 is about $217 trillion.
Extraterrestrial threat
So the stars, as the title of Sergei Lukyanenko’s dilogy says, are not just cold, but also expensive toys . However, this is not the only reason for concern.
If you go on a trip to the Moon or Mars, your ship will have to undergo a strict disinfection procedure - the provisions of the Outer Space Treaty oblige you to ensure that nothing in the area is populated with terrestrial bacteria.
This also works in reverse side: bring guests of alien origin with you undesirable.
For now space treaty 1967 copes well with its tasks, but great challenges lie ahead. Previously countries and the companies behaved quite predictably: they launched research or telecommunications satellites into orbit, and jointly built the ISS.
But times are changing.
Elon Musk openly talks about the prospects of colonizing Mars, Bigelow Aerospace intends to build its own space stations, and Roscosmos is setting its sights on mining on the Moon.
It's time to think about the future
People seem to have shaken themselves off from a long sleep and remembered the words of Ray Bradbury. Classic science fiction in his declining years he said: “Humanity has been given the opportunity to explore space, but it wants to engage in consumption - drink beer and watch TV series.”
Perhaps we will still be able to combine these activities: if we figure out how to regulate everything.
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33. Treaty on Principles for the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, Including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies
Or, for short, simply the “Outer Outer Space Treaty.” This treaty forms the basis of international space law. The agreement was originally signed by the USSR, the SGA and Great Britain (they are also its depositories) on January 27, 1967 and came into force on October 10 of the same year. Now about a hundred countries have fully accepted it, and about 30 have signed it, but not fully ratified it. One way or another, the treaty covers most of the states of the Earth.
Among his principles there are, in particular, the following. The treaty prohibits its parties from placing nuclear weapons or any other weapons of mass destruction in low-Earth orbit, installing them on the Moon or any other celestial body, as well as placing them in outer space. The treaty restricts the use of the Moon and other celestial bodies peaceful purposes and prohibits their use for testing any type of weapon, conducting military maneuvers and establishing military bases, structures and fortifications (Article 4; yes, this is very funny). However, the treaty does not prohibit the deployment of conventional, non-nuclear weapons in orbit. The treaty also states that the exploration and exploration of space should be for the benefit and benefit of all states and that all countries are allowed to explore and use space. Well, of course, for peaceful purposes.
The treaty prohibits any country from claiming a celestial body - such as the Moon - as its own, since they are the common heritage of mankind. Article 2 states: “Outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, is not subject to national appropriation, either by claim of sovereignty over it, by use or occupation, or by any other means.” At the same time, the state that launches a spacecraft (“object”) retains its control and jurisdiction over it. This State is also responsible for damage caused by their spacecraft and must avoid polluting and causing damage to space and celestial bodies.
Article 6 talks about international responsibility: “The activities of non-governmental legal entities in outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, must be carried out with the permission and under the constant supervision of the relevant State Party to the Treaty.” It is also stated that the parties to the treaty will bear international responsibility for their activities in space, regardless of whether they are carried out under the leadership of the national government or in some other way (well, by private firms).
Article 9 tells us: “If any State Party to the Treaty has reason to believe that an activity or experiment planned by that State Party to the Treaty or by nationals of that State Party to the Treaty in outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, will potentially create harmful interference with the activities of other States Parties to the Treaty in the peaceful exploration and use of outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, it shall hold appropriate international consultations before undertaking such activity or experiment.” It's like SGA and I playing Cold War, did not forget about nature and other kingdoms-states.
In 1979, they also wanted to make a continuation in the form of the Moon Treaty, but none of the interested countries ratified it.
Recently (early 2000s) they wanted to push through the “SpacePreservation Act,” which would have banned all weapons in space, but so far little has worked.
2222 (XXI). Treaty on Principles for the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, Including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies
States parties to this Treaty,
inspired the great prospects opening up for humanity as a result of human penetration into space,
recognizing the common interest of all mankind in the progress of the exploration and use of outer space for peaceful purposes,
believing that the exploration and use of outer space should be aimed at the benefit of all peoples, regardless of their degree of economic or scientific development,
wanting to promote the development of broad international cooperation in both scientific and legal aspects of the exploration and use of outer space for peaceful purposes,
believing that such cooperation will contribute to the development of mutual understanding and strengthening of friendly relations between states and peoples,
reminding resolution 1962 (XVIII), entitled “Declaration of Legal Principles for the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space”, unanimously adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 13 December 1963,
reminding Resolution 1884 (XVIII), calling on States to refrain from placing into orbit around the Earth any objects containing nuclear weapons or any other weapons of mass destruction or from installing such weapons on celestial bodies, unanimously adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on October 17, 1963 of the year,
pay attention to resolution General Assembly United Nations 110 (II) of November 3, 1947, which condemns propaganda having the purpose of or capable of creating or increasing a threat to the peace, a breach of the peace or acts of aggression, and considering that the said resolution applies to outer space,
being convinced that the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, Including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, will contribute to the implementation of the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations,
agreed about the following:
Article I
The exploration and use of outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, is carried out for the benefit and in the interests of all countries, regardless of the degree of their economic or scientific development, and is the property of all humanity.
Outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, is open to exploration and use by all States without any discrimination on the basis of equality and in accordance with international law, with free access to all areas of celestial bodies.
Outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, is free for scientific research, and States shall promote and encourage international cooperation in such research.
Article II
Outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, is not subject to national appropriation, either by claim of sovereignty, by use or occupation, or by any other means.
Article III
The States Parties to the Treaty shall carry out activities for the exploration and use of outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, in accordance with international law, including the Charter of the United Nations, in the interests of maintaining international peace and security and development international cooperation and mutual understanding.
0:29 02/02/2017👁 465
Space exploration is governed by a series of complex international treaties and agreements that are many years old. The first and probably the most important of these celebrated its 50th anniversary on January 27 - the Outer Space Treaty (or, for longer, the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space). This treaty, signed in 1967, was drafted by the United Nations and remains the “constitution” of outer space today. It was signed and made official (ratified) by 105 countries around the world.
So far this agreement has worked quite well. But problems with it began to arise more and more often. Will he survive another 50 years?
Outer Space Treaty, like everyone else international laws, is technically tied to the countries that have signed it. But the obvious absence of a “space police” means that it is practically impossible to implement. Therefore, a country, individual or company can simply ignore it if they wish. The consequences of non-compliance may include sanctions, but for the most part simply resentment and disrespect from the international arena.
However, it is interesting that during the 50 years of its existence this agreement has never been violated. Although practical problems appeared, they were always resolved under the terms of the Outer Space Treaty, without in any way violating it.
Treaty Issues
Although there are many points in the treaty that need to be revised, one of the most important is that outer space must be used for “peaceful purposes” - weapons mass destruction cannot be used in space. Another point is that the celestial territory (or, for example) is not subject to “national appropriation”. In other words, no country can claim it.
These clauses have been problematic since the treaty came into force - the first example of such a problem was the Bogotá declaration in 1976. A group of eight countries tried to claim ownership of a segment above their lands - so that if their borders were projected into the sky, any "stationary" satellite would always remain within its borders.
They argued that this space does not fall within the Outer Space Treaty definition of “outer space” and is therefore “ natural resource" This statement was not seen as an attempt to break the treaty, but rather to clarify that orbits that go around the equator or in the direction of rotation should belong to the countries below them. However, this ultimately did not find support international community.
In 2007, China was considered to have violated the treaty when it shot down one of its own weather monitors with a ground-based ballistic missile medium range. This event was perceived as "aggressive" by Japan, but since the missiles did not fall under the definition of "weapons of mass destruction", it was concluded that they did not violate the treaty. However, international protest was caused by a cloud of debris hanging in orbit.
Need updates
Despite the importance of the Outer Space Treaty, we must recognize that in modern era it is somewhat outdated - since it is addressed, for the most part, to countries. Many private companies (like lunarland) take advantage of this and offer sites on celestial bodies like the Moon. The agents selling these areas justify their actions by saying that under the Treaty these territories are not subject to national appropriation - technically, private companies or individuals can appropriate these territories. They are not countries.
In an attempt to address some of the treaty's contemporary shortcomings, the US government passed the Space Act in 2015, which states that US citizens can engage in the commercial exploration and exploitation of space resources. While this may undermine the Outer Space Treaty's prohibition on ownership of celestial territory, the Outer Space Act stipulates that the United States does not claim or appropriate anything. It turns out that the United States “can” use celestial territory without appropriating it.
Despite obvious legal loopholes and problems, this agreement has long formed the basis international law in relation to outer space, and it remains an important basis for the regulation of space processes. The ambition it embodied at the time of writing, to create the laws of the cosmos, remains important - and whether any changes to it will be adopted in the light of changing political and commercial circumstances remains to be seen.
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Treaty on the principles of the activities of states in the exploration and use of outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, an international treaty, approved on December 19, 1966 by the 21st session of the UN General Assembly. Signed on January 27, 1967 in Moscow, Washington and London by the depositary states - the USSR, the USA and Great Britain. On the same day, the signing of the treaty by other states began. For the countries that have signed it, the treaty comes into force from the moment the instruments of ratification are deposited with the depositary states (as of May 1, 1971, the treaty was signed by 90 countries, including the USSR, Ukrainian SSR, and BSSR). The agreement is open-ended and open for signature by all states. Provides for the right of each state to refuse to participate in it at any time.
The treaty consists of a preamble and 17 articles; establishes that the exploration and use of outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, is carried out for the benefit and in the interests of all countries, regardless of the degree of their economic and scientific development, and space and celestial bodies are open to all states without any discrimination on the basis of equality (Article 1). According to the treaty, activities in outer space must be carried out in accordance with international law, in the interests of maintaining international peace and security and developing international cooperation and mutual assistance (Article III). Guarantees are provided for the protection of the legitimate interests of each state individually and the entire international community as a whole against abuse of granted rights. The states that have signed the treaty undertake not to launch objects with nuclear weapons or other types of weapons of mass destruction into outer space, to use the Moon and other celestial bodies exclusively for peaceful purposes, to not allow the creation of military bases, structures and fortifications on them, or to conduct tests of any type of weapons and military maneuvers.
Defined by agreement general principle international responsibility of its member states for national activities in outer space, regardless of whether it is carried out by government agencies or non-governmental legal entities, as well as liability for damage caused by space objects or their components to the state party to the treaty, its natural or legal entities, regardless of the location of the damage: on the ground, in air or outer space. States are required to take special care when conducting experiments in space that could interfere with the activities of other States or have adverse effects on the Earth's environment. The use of space for war propaganda is recognized as unacceptable.
In the field of cooperation in space, the agreement stated that cosmonauts of one state should provide possible assistance to cosmonauts of another state when carrying out activities in space or on celestial bodies; all stations, installations, equipment and spaceships on the Moon and other celestial bodies are open to representatives of other states party to the treaty on the basis of reciprocity. Astronauts are considered as envoys of humanity into space, and they should be provided with all possible assistance in the event of an accident, disaster or forced landing.
Publ.: “Gazette of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR”, 1967, No. 44, art. 588.
A. I. Ioyrysh.
Photo: myfest.ru
On January 27, 1967, in Moscow, Washington and London, the depositary states - the USSR, the USA and Great Britain - signed the Treaty on the principles of the activities of states in the exploration and use of outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies. Among the principles outlined in this document are special meaning has a prohibition for participating States from placing nuclear weapons or any weapons of mass destruction in Earth's orbit, installing them on the Moon or other celestial body, or on a station in outer space. Thus, a barrier was put in place to the transfer nuclear technologies and the arms race associated with their development beyond the boundaries of planet Earth, and space was declared a space of peace, free from military bases and maneuvers. The treaty came into force in October 1967. As of January 2017, 105 countries are party to the Treaty, and another 24 have signed the Treaty but have not completed ratification.
However, in modern conditions, when before our eyes there is a revision of the security architecture that was built thanks, among other things, to the efforts of Soviet diplomacy, starting from the first years after the end of World War II, it forces us to turn to the background of the signing of this the most important document, which laid the foundation for modern space law.
Background to the conclusion of the Agreement
It is safe to say that the arms race in space between the two largest superpowers of the twentieth century began back in 1957, immediately after Soviet Union launched the first artificial Earth satellite into orbit. The starting point for the use of outer space as nuclear test site was Operation Argus, which had been prepared in the United States under conditions of increased secrecy since the summer of 1958. The original goal of the developers was to launch two rockets within a month, which were supposed to explode at altitudes from 300 to 5000 km near the geomagnetic equator. The main purpose of the experiment was to study the damaging effects nuclear explosion in outer space, on terrestrial radars, communication systems and electronic equipment of satellites and ballistic missiles. Tests were carried out in the southern part Atlantic Ocean between 33 and 55 degrees south latitude. All explosions - on August 27, August 30 and September 6 - were accompanied by launches of geophysical rockets with measuring equipment from various areas globe both immediately before the explosions and after them. It is interesting that Soviet specialists managed to quickly obtain information about the first of the tests. On August 27, three geophysical rockets were launched from the Kapustin Yar test site, the measuring equipment of which recorded changes in the Earth’s magnetic field. The reasons for this became clear a little later, when on March 19, 1959, an article appeared in the New York Times newspaper, which described the tests.
Despite all these events, at first the rivalry between the two superpowers in space was rather peaceful. The situation changed radically in 1962-1963, when the United States, as part of the so-called Dominic Project authorized by President John Kennedy, conducted a series of 103 atmospheric nuclear tests. International situation during this period was heated: in 1961, on the territory of Turkey, in the area of the city of Izmir, American missiles medium-range "Jupiter", which posed a threat not only to the territory of the USSR, but also to the countries of the socialist camp. In April of the same year The White house attempted to overthrow the Fidel Castro regime in Cuba and launched a landing of Cuban emigrants in the Bay of Cochinos, which ended in their defeat at Playa Giron. The Soviet Union could not stand aside either. On August 30, 1961, the First Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee N. Khrushchev announced the USSR’s withdrawal from the moratorium on nuclear tests, which the country had adhered to since November 3, 1958, and soon the preparatory work at the Semipalatinsk test site and Novaya Zemlya.
On January 27, 1967, the USSR, Great Britain and the USA signed the Treaty on the Principles of the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space. Currently, 105 countries are parties to the treaty. Another 24 have signed the treaty but have not completed ratification.
The defeat that the United States suffered in Cuba, as well as the fact that one of the Pacific Ocean tests disabled a number artificial satellites Earth, forced Washington in 1963 to sign the Treaty banning nuclear tests in three environments (in the atmosphere, outer space and under water). In 1967 new stage negotiations were marked by the signing of the Outer Space Treaty, which became one of the predecessors of political detente and international cooperation in outer space.
The problem of anti-satellite weapons in space
The arms race in space continued, but now Washington and Moscow emphasized the development of anti-satellite weapons. According to the data of the famous military expert Vladimir Shcherbakov, which he voiced in his interview with the online publication Free Press, the most promising Soviet developments in this area were the work in the design bureau of V.N. Chelomey on the creation of the Almaz manned space station. It included orbital station, a supply ship and two reusable landers. The station was armed with the Shield-1 cannon, designed for firing in a vacuum. It was eventually replaced by the Shield-2 system, equipped with two space-to-space rockets. The complex could shoot down satellites in orbit, conduct reconnaissance and launch bomb attacks on objects on the surface of the planet. Finally, as part of the work to strengthen the missile defense system, already in the 80s the USSR was developing the Skif and Cascade orbital complexes.
At the same time, since the late 1970s, Moscow and Washington have been consulting on limiting strategic weapons within the framework of anti-satellite weapons. Serious progress did not happen for a long time: at first they could not agree on general terms, and then in Washington, on the initiative of US President Ronald Reagan, the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) was launched, the task of which was to develop a large-scale system missile defense with space-based elements. The development of this program, which was a direct violation of the 1972 ABM Treaty, was soon curtailed due to its extreme technological complexity and high cost. However, already in December 1987, a Soviet-American meeting took place in Washington, at which Soviet leader M. Gorbachev and US President R. Reagan signed the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. Soon the USSR collapsed, and the confrontation in space subsided for a while.
Contemporary challenges to compliance with the Outer Space Treaty
Unfortunately, a number of international treaties and agreements do not have a transparent mechanism for monitoring their compliance and sanctions measures against their violators. This became especially obvious when the United States withdrew from the ABM Treaty in 2002 under the sly pretext that the technologies specified in this document had become universally available. This step, as well as the active involvement of the countries of Central and of Eastern Europe in the deployment of elements of a new missile defense system in Europe, made a number of analysts wonder whether new round militarization of space. China has also begun to develop its own anti-satellite weapons development program. A notable event was a message from the White House press service on May 26, 2016, which reported that the US government had developed and submitted to Congress a report on deterring adversaries in outer space. The administration of US President Barack Obama explained this step by concern about the development of anti-satellite weapons by Russia and China.
A serious challenge to the inviolability of the Treaty is the active involvement of a number of European countries in the economic development of space. On February 3, 2016, Prime Minister of Luxembourg Etienne Schneider at a press conference announced the start of a program for the industrial development of asteroids and other celestial bodies from which valuable minerals are going to be extracted. According to a number of experts, such a decision will have a great macroeconomic effect. The Luxembourg company SES, one of the largest global network operators, is going to take responsibility for the project. Its partners are American companies Deep Space Industries and Planetary Resources, with exploration of mineral-rich asteroids already underway. However, Mr. Schneider, during his visit to Moscow on February 18, 2016, made a similar proposal to his Russian colleague, Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Dmitry Rogozin (obviously, based on Moscow’s technological assistance).
According to the Outer Space Treaty of 1967, the mineral resources of space are the property of mankind. If the project proposed by Luxembourg is implemented, despite its high cost and technical complexity (according to preliminary data, the cost of the issue is several tens of billions of dollars), then the owners of the as yet non-existent market will receive special advantages due to this.
In the face of numerous problems and challenges that accompany compliance with the Outer Space Treaty, the Russian political leadership has consistently advocated compliance with the 1967 Outer Space Treaty and the negotiation of a legally binding treaty on the non-placement of weapons in outer space. Currently, a Russian-Chinese draft of such an agreement is currently under consideration by the Conference on Disarmament at the UN.