355 



THE SPACE TREATY 



The need for future cooperation in space was already evident at the 

 time the Antarctic Treaty 233 was signed. As discussed by Sullivan, 



Before putting their pens to [the Antarctic Treaty] several of the signers pointed 

 out that, contingent upon the treaty's ratification, it could serve as a precedent 

 for the settlement of the more difficult problem of outer space. 234 



As early as March 15, 1958, while the IGY was still in progress, the 

 Soviet Government had proposed an international agreement "for 

 cooperation in the exploration and peaceful use of outer space," and 

 had referred the question to the United Nations for consideration. 235 

 In the fall of 1958, when the General Assembly convened for its 

 13th session, the Soviet resolution was debated along with a similar 

 resolution proposed by the United States on September 2, 1958. 236 

 The primary difference between the two proposals was that the Soviet 

 resolution incorporated the question of removal of military bases from 

 foreign soil, whereas the American resolution did not. Subsequently, 

 a compromise resolution was introduced on November 13, 1958, by 

 20 nations, including the United States, entitled "Question of the 

 Peaceful Uses of Outer Space," which was adopted by the General 

 Assembly on December 13, 1958. 237 Incorporated in this resolution 

 were two specific references to the IGY. In the preamble, the resolu- 

 tion called to attention the fact that the General Assembly noted 



. . . the success of the scientific cooperative program of the International 

 Geophysical Year in the exploration of outer space and the decision to continue 

 and expand this type of cooperation .... 



The resolution then established the Ad Hoc Committee on the 

 Peaceful Uses of Outer Space to report to the General Assembly on 

 the 



. . . continuation on a permanent basis of the outer space research now being 

 carried on within the framework on the International Geophysical Year. 238 



Difficulties were encountered, however, with the space treaty itself. 

 The United States was willing and made "... numerous gestures 

 in an effort to elicit Soviet participation in cooperative space activities, 

 but to no avail." 239 On the surface, the Soviets clearly supported the 

 principle of international cooperation, citing their participation in the 

 IGY, and giving "special emphasis to the need for international co- 

 operation in space exploration." 240 In practice, however, the Soviets 



m "Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, 

 Including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies" (State Department Document TIAS 6347). Furthermore,- 

 in like manner, the IO Y can be considered as having played a similar role in the more recent Agreement on 

 the Rescue of Astronauts and the Return of Objects Launched Into Outer Space (signed on Apr. 22, 1968, 

 and entered into force for the United States on Dec. 3, 1%8; see State Department Document TIAS 6599); 

 and the Convention on International Liability for Damage Caused by Space Objects (signed on Mar. 29, 

 1972, and entered into force on Sept. 1, 1972). 



"« Sullivan. Assault, p. 415. 



•« U.S., Congress, Senate, Committee on Aeronautical and Space Sciences, Treaty on Principles Governing 

 the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, Including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies. 

 Analysis and Background Data, 90th Cong., 1st sess., Mfirch 1967, p. 5. 



238 S. Doc. No. 56, International Cooperation and Organization, p. 184. 



"' S. Doc. No. 56, International Cooperation and Organization, p. 185. 



238 S. Doc. No. 56. International Cooperation and Organization, p. 186. 



"» Senate, Soviet Space Programs, 1962-65, p. 428. 



s <° Senate, Soviet Space Programs: Organization, [etc.], pp. 173-174. In particular, V. V. Kuznetsov ex- 

 pounded on this point in a speech before the 14th General Assembly; see "Unanimity in Outer Space," 

 United Nations Review 6 (February 1960), p. 34. Later, on Sept. 20, 1963, in a speech before the Assembly, 

 President Kennedy called for the United States and the U.S.S.R. to join forces in exploring outer space. In 

 particular, the President called for both nations to cooperate in a manned lunar landing: "Why . . . should 

 man's Qrst flight to the Moon be a matter of national competition? . . . Surely we should explore whether 

 the scientists and astronauts of our two countries— indeed, of all the world — cannot work together in the 

 conquest of space, sending someday in this decade to the Moon not the representatives of a single nation but 

 the representatives of all of our countries" Department of State Bulletin 45 (Oct. 7, 1963), pp. 532-533. 



