The Outer Space 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. Convinced that a Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, Moon and Other Celestial Bodies will promote the Purposes and Principles of the Charter of the United Nations,. The treaty came into force in October. Space exploration is governed by a complex series of international treaties and agreements that have been in place for years. The first and probably the most important of them celebrates its 50th anniversary on 27 January: the Outer Space Treaty.
This treaty, which was signed in 1967, was agreed through the United Nations, and today it remains the “constitution of outer space. It has been signed and made official, or ratified, by 105 countries around the world. The Outer Space Treaty, as it is known, was the second of the so-called non-arms treaties; its concepts and some of its provisions were inspired by its predecessor, the Antarctic Treaty. Like that Treaty, it sought to avoid a new form of colonial competition and the possible damage that selfish exploitation could cause.
Between 1959 and 1962, Western powers made a series of proposals to ban the use of outer space for military purposes. His successive plans for general and complete disarmament included provisions to prohibit the orbit and deployment in outer space of weapons of mass destruction. Addressing the General Assembly on September 22, 1960, President Eisenhower proposed that the principles of the Antarctic Treaty apply to outer space and celestial bodies. Soviet plans for general and complete disarmament between 1960 and 1962 included provisions to ensure the peaceful use of outer space.
However, the Soviet Union would not separate outer space from other disarmament issues, nor would it agree to limit outer space to peaceful uses unless the United States,. Foreign bases where short- and medium-range missiles were stationed were also eliminated. Western powers refused to accept the Soviet approach; the link, they argued, would alter the military balance and weaken the security of the West. After the signing of the Limited Test Ban Treaty, the position of the Soviet Union changed.
It stopped linking an agreement on outer space to the question of foreign bases. On 19 September 1963, Foreign Minister Gromyko told the General Assembly that the Soviet Union wanted to conclude an agreement banning the orbit of objects carrying nuclear weapons. Ambassador Stevenson stated that the United States had no intention of orbiting weapons of mass destruction, installing them in celestial bodies, or parking them in outer space. The General Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution on 17 October 1963, in which it welcomed the Soviet and the United States.
Declarations and call on all States to refrain from introducing weapons of mass destruction into outer space. The United States supported the resolution, despite the absence of verification provisions; the capabilities of its space tracking systems were considered sufficient to detect launches and devices in orbit. In order to maintain the momentum of arms control agreements, the United States in 1965 and 1966 lobbied for the establishment of a treaty that would give greater substance to the United Nations,. On 16 June 1966, both the United States and the Soviet Union submitted draft treaties.
The project dealt only with celestial bodies; the Soviet project covered the entire environment of outer space. The United States accepted the Soviet position on the scope of the Treaty, and by September agreement had already been reached in discussions in Geneva on most of the provisions of the Treaty. Differences on the few outstanding issues, mainly related to access to facilities in celestial bodies, reporting on space activities and the use of military equipment and personnel in space exploration, were successfully resolved in private consultations during the period of General Assembly sessions in December. First of all, it contains a commitment not to place in orbit around the Earth, install on the Moon or any other celestial body, or any other station in outer space, nuclear or any other weapon of mass destruction.
Second, it limits the use of the moon and other celestial bodies exclusively for peaceful purposes and expressly prohibits their use to establish military bases, installations or fortifications; test weapons of any kind; or perform military maneuvers. In 1967, when the Outer Space Treaty was signed, the Cold War was in full swing. Both the United States and the Soviet Union wanted to prevent the expansion of the nuclear arms race to a completely new territory. And as space technologies advanced, there was concern that Earth orbit and beyond would provide a completely new area from which weapons of mass destruction could be launched.
That is why an article of the treaty prohibits countries from placing nuclear weapons in orbit or on other planetary bodies. Convinced that a treaty on the principles that should govern the activities of States in the exploration and use of outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, will promote the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations,. This international treaty is officially called the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, Including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies (October 10, 1967, 18 pt. On the contrary, scientists didn't know if there was extraterrestrial life on the Moon or elsewhere, and they didn't want to risk space agencies bringing back a deadly space microbe that had never been seen before.
Other provisions of the treaty emphasize that space is not the domain of a single country and that all countries have the right to explore it. Recognizing the common interest of all mankind in the progress of the exploration and use of outer space for peaceful purposes,. A State party to the Treaty that has reason to believe that an activity or experiment planned by another State party in outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, could cause potentially harmful interference with activities for the peaceful exploration and use of outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, can request inquiries about the activity or experiment. The States Parties to the Treaty shall resolve any practical question arising in connection with the activities of international intergovernmental organizations in the exploration and use of outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, with the relevant organization or with one or more States members of that international organization who are Parties to this Treaty.
Governments are no longer the only entities capable of going to space, there are also billionaires and private companies trying to travel to space. Taking into account United Nations General Assembly resolution 110 (II) of 3 November 1947, which condemned propaganda intended or likely to provoke or encourage any threat to the peace, breach of the peace or act of aggression, and considering that the above-mentioned resolution applies to outer space,. Since then, the treaty has helped to ensure the peaceful exploration of space, as well as to provide a lasting framework for how nations are supposed to behave in Earth orbit and beyond. States Parties to the Treaty shall undertake 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 interest of maintaining international peace and security and promoting cooperation and understanding international.
The 1979 Moon Treaty emphasized that the Moon and other celestial bodies should be governed by international law, stating that the Moon and other celestial bodies should be used only for peaceful purposes; however, this treaty was not ratified by any of the major space-traveling countries. While this seems to undermine the space treaty's ban on anyone who owns a celestial territory, the Space Act has a clause stating, in simple terms, that the United States does not claim or own any of those things. In 1963, the United Nations General Assembly adopted two resolutions on outer space, which later became the basis of the Outer Space Treaty. Inspired by the great perspectives that open up before humanity as a result of man's entry into outer space,.
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