Regulation of space activities during 1958-1963 period

It should be noted that even though space activity was a fairly new type of activity at that time, the provisions of this resolution contain many important proposals made by the UN General Assembly already at this initial stage of its development.

For example, the UN General Assembly suggested all States according to which "outer space should be used for peaceful purposes only” (preamble, items "a” and "b” of paragraph 1 and paragraph 2)[8].

The absence of a mention of "celestial bodies” in this sentence means that the UN allowed states to conduct military operations on "celestial bodies” at this stage or did not assume the rapid technological progress of mankind and its ability to get to "celestial bodies” shortly (for example, such as Moon, Mars, asteroids, etc.). This is because in those days the very idea that someone could land on another planet sounded like science fiction[19, p. 39].

However, despite such an omission, all the same, one may say that at that point the UN General Assembly laid the foundation for the formulation and lobbying of the idea of peaceful exploration and use of the Universe.

In addition to this initiative, Resolution 1348 offered other ideas to States. For example, it was proposed to implement "the exploitation of outer space for the benefit of mankind" (preamble)[8]. In fact, in this way, the UN General Assembly began to develop a new idea - the idea of a useful Universe, with a special emphasis on the benefit of humanity. According to this idea, all subjects engaged in space activities should have initially acted only in the interests and for the benefit of humanity, and all other reasons and principles should be secondary and applied only to this idea.

Also, this resolution marked the beginning of the process of organizing cooperation in space activities.

Thus, in the preamble of the Resolution, the UN General Assembly pointed out "the great importance of international co-operation in the study and utilization of outer space for peaceful purposes" and "that such co-operation will promote mutual understanding and the strengthening of friendly relations among people", and therefore "the development of programmes of international and scientific co-operation in the peaceful uses of outer space should be vigorously pursued"[8].

However, the most interesting and important proposal that the UN General Assembly made as part of this process was the proposal "to avoid the extension of present national rivalries into this new field" (preamble)[8]. Although this proposal for the non-competition of states is a difficult idea to implement, its accomplishment would allow international cooperation to reach a new global level.

Further to support this idea the UN General Assembly decided to establish "an ad hoc Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space" (paragraph 1)[8]. In fact, with this decision, the UN began the process of forming international bodies and organizations for the regulation of space activities.

To perform cooperation in space activities the UN General Assembly has set several important tasks for the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UN COPUOS), namely, the "continuation permanently of the outer space research" (subitem "i” of item "b” of paragraph 1)[8], "organization of the mutual exchange and dissemination of information on outer space research" (subitem "ii” of item "b” of paragraph 1)[8], "co-ordination of national research programmes for the study of outer space" (subitem "iii” of item "b” of paragraph 1)[8].

Also, the UN General Assembly pointed out the need to establish "the nature of legal problems" (item "d" of paragraph 1)[8] and, thus, actually set another task for the creation and development of space law.

It could therefore be said that at the initial stage of the implementation of space activities, the UN General Assembly managed to declare two main initiatives (on a peaceful Universe and a useful Universe) as well as formulate and push the implementation of the idea of cooperation in space activities.

However, the most important aspect of this resolution was that the international community, represented by the UN General Assembly, by announcing the basic principles and objectives of space activities, actually determined the legal status of "outer space" as a separate object of space activities and international cooperation and as a separate all-encompassing spatial and territorial unit that does not fall under the jurisdiction of any state on Earth.

In addition, taking into account the reference of the text of this resolution to the provisions of paragraph 1 of Article 2 of the UN Charter[3], it can be considered that the UN General Assembly has established the status of a subject of space activities for all Member States of the United Nations and directly for the UN, represented by its new body "The Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space". Thus, it can be considered that this resolution also determined the initial subject composition of participants in space activities.

At the same time, at this stage, the UN General Assembly did not consider people and extraterrestrial intelligent beings, private companies, and nongovernmental organizations as subjects of space activities.

The UN GA Resolution 1472. A year later, on December 12, 1959, the General Assembly adopted a new resolution - the UN GA Resolution 1472.

An important element of this resolution was the establishment of specific tasks for the "Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space" to coordinate space activities. Thus, the UN continued the formation and implementation of the idea of cooperation in space activities.

However, this Resolution became famous not for its tasks, but for the fact that during its discussion within the Legal Subcommittee, the representatives of the United Kingdom and the United States strongly opposed the position of "the exploitation of outer space only for the benefit of mankind"[19, p. 41].

The desire of space states to strengthen their hegemony in the world was expressed in the formation of a new goal for their space activities - for the benefit of States. As a result, the first controversial provision on the regulation of space activities appeared in official documents, according to which "the exploration and use of outer space should be only for the betterment of mankind and to the benefit of States" (preamble).

The conflicting nature of this provision was obvious even at this stage since it was clear to everyone that most of the goals and actions that are usually carried out for the benefit of certain States very rarely coincide with the good of all mankind.

Nevertheless, with these provisions, the UN General Assembly changed and expanded the original image of the useful Universe, according to the early formulation of which all subjects engaged in space activities should have acted only in the interests and for the benefit of humanity.

Thus, the foundation was laid for future lobbying for the benefit of States in matters of space activities. At the same time, this detail appeared in the context of a general proposal on the use of outer space only for the benefit of mankind and therefore initially did not confuse a wide range of legal experts.

The UN GA Resolution 1721. Provided in terms of scientific achievements the year 1961 was marked by the first successful human flight into space (April 12, 1961), then from the point of view of regulating space activities its achievements were associated with the appearance of the UN GA Resolution 1721 (December 20, 1961). With this resolution, the UN General Assembly significantly accelerated the formation of international bodies and organizations on the regulation of space activities to implement the idea of cooperation.

First of all, the list of the UN authorized bodies and organizations participating in space activities was expanded by including "The World Meteorological Organization", "The International Telecommunication Union", "The Economic Council", "The Social Council", "The Special Fund", "The Expanded Program of Technical Assistance" (paragraph 2 of the article "C")[13].

In addition, within the framework of the cooperation initiative, the UN General Assembly proposed to participate in space activities of "nongovernmental organizations" (paragraph 5 of the article "D")[13] and, thus, defined them as separate subjects of space activities. Moreover, it was proposed to participate in the space activities of a specific non-governmental organization, namely, "The International Council of Scientific Unions" (transformed first in 1998 into "The International Council for Science", and subsequently, after the merger in 2018 with "The International Social Science Council" into "The International Science Council").

Also, this resolution designated new objects of space activity, which taking into account previous similar objects could already be at least conditionally divided according to the principles of origin and condition into the following types: natural objects, man-made objects, technical phenomena, and natural phenomena.

The man-made objects of space activity mentioned in the resolution include "satellite” (preamble of article "D”)[13] and "objects launched into outer space” (paragraph 1 of the article "B”) [13].

In turn, "satellite communication” (preamble of article "D”)[13] can be attributed to technical phenomena.

Natural objects of space activity include "Outer space”, which has been repeatedly described in previous resolutions as well as a new spatial- territorial unit, the "Celestial body” (items "a” and "b” of paragraph 1 of article "A”)[13].

In addition, pointing to the need for space research related to the study of weather and climate on Earth, the UN General Assembly identified "natural phenomena” (changes occurring in the nature of the planet Earth as well as any phenomena in the Universe outside the Earth) as another object of space activity (item "a” of paragraph 1 of the article "C”)[13].

At the same time, the UN General Assembly proposed one of the basic rules of space activity - the rule for registering "objects launched into outer space” in the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (paragraphs 1 and 2 of the article "B”) [13]. This provision established the basis of the international order of space activities and fixed the legal link between the "object” and the launching States, and also established the moral responsibility of the State launching the "object” into outer space to the rest of the international community. At the same time, at this stage, the rule of registration of space launches concerned only States and did not regulate the space activities of private companies, individuals, and non-governmental organizations.

It should be noted that all of the above innovations of the UN General Assembly had a very great impact on the further development of space activities.

However, from a legal point of view, the most important element of this Resolution was the recommendation according to which "International law, including the Charter of the United Nations, applies to outer space and celestial bodies" (item "a” of paragraph 1 of article "A”)[13].

Thus, the UN General Assembly for the first time opened up about the regulation of relations among participants in space activities and jurisdiction, inviting States to regulate their relations in outer space and on celestial bodies based on existing international law.

However, despite many positive aspects, this Resolution also proposed several new and very controversial provisions for space activities.

For example, the UN General Assembly proposed that "communication by means of satellites should be available to the nations of the world ... on a global and non-discriminatory basis" (preamble of article "D”)[13].

This proposal is fully consistent with the initiative to create a useful Universe. However, unfortunately, the resolution does not contain an explanation of the term "availability” and the method of its implementation, which allowed each State to interpret it at its discretion. Nevertheless, to support this idea, the UN General Assembly set its bodies another serious task "to make allocations of radio frequency bands for outer space activities" (paragraph 1 of article "D”)[13], which later played an important role in the development of telecommunications.

However, the most controversial and contradictory is the provision of this Resolution, which states that "Outer space and celestial bodies are free for exploration and use by all States in conformity with international law and are not subject to national appropriation" (item "b” of paragraph 1 of article "A”)[13].

In essence, this provision contains three different legal assumptions, each of which describes a separate type of participation in space activities.

The first one is "outer space and celestial bodies are free for exploration by all States in conformity with international law”[13] which describes the idea of free exploration of the Universe.

The second formulation says that "outer space and celestial bodies are free for use by all States in conformity with international law”[13] and describes a new initiative that assumes that states can use the Universe.

The third assumption, according to which "outer space and celestial bodies are not subject to national appropriation"[13], describes the Universe as a free territory that can never belong to the States.

Even though all these three formulations are contained in one sentence, it is easy to notice that the second and third formulations of this provision contradict each other and are mutually exclusive.

On the one hand, the third formulation restricts States in their ability to appropriate outer space and celestial bodies.

On the other hand, the second formulation, taking into account the availability of opportunities for States to carry out space activities for their benefit (the UN GA Resolution 1472), actually gives States the right to freely use Outer space and celestial bodies for their benefit. In turn, free use for their benefit means that States can use outer space and celestial bodies, which they do not even formally own and have no right to own.

That is, already at this stage there are legal conflicts in the field of regulation of space activities as follows: "are not subject to national appropriation” and "free for use” as well as "the betterment of mankind” and "the benefit of States”.

The UN GA Resolution 1802. The next resolution, which concerned space activities, was the UN GA Resolution 1802.

This time, the UN General Assembly once again drew increased attention to the need for the legal regulation of relations among States in Outer space based on international law.

First of all, the main tasks related to space activities and subject to priority solution were identified (paragraph 1 of the article "I”), namely: "improvement of basic legal principles governing the activities of States in the exploration and use of outer space", establishment of "liability for space vehicle accidents”, coordination of conditions providing "assistance to return of astronauts and space vehicles”[14]. From the above tasks, it becomes clear that the UN General Assembly continued to promote its idea of allowing States to freely use Outer space. At the same time, such actions have created an even greater imbalance in favor of States and to the detriment of "the betterment of mankind”.

Nevertheless, this resolution also contains many positive aspects.

For example, the UN General Assembly outlined the need to establish responsibility for space activities, for starters, the "liability for space vehicle accidents” (paragraph 1 of the article "I”)[14].

Also, the UN General Assembly again drew attention to the need for events that could expand cooperation in space activities. First of all, attention was called to the need to support and strengthen cooperation among States on the implementation of international programs described in the report of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (paragraphs 1 and 3 of article "II”)[14], including in the field of "atmospheric science research" (paragraph 2 of article "III”)[14].

Additionally, the UN General Assembly once again brought up the subject of creating accessible satellite communication on a global scale for "the expansion ... and facilitating contact among the people of the world" (paragraph 2 of article "IV”) [14]. However, this time again the Resolution did not specify the conditions for the availability of such a communication.

In turn, considering initiatives for cooperation in space activities and the creation of a useful Universe for "the betterment of mankind”, it turned out to be a very interesting and promising idea to create a network of new man-made objects of space activity on the Earth's geomagnetic equator to launch sounding rockets under the leadership of the United Nations - "rocket launching facilities” (paragraphs 4-7 of article "II”). According to the UN General Assembly, the implementation of this task would contribute to scientific progress and international cooperation in the field of space exploration as well as a benefit "by providing opportunity for valuable practical training for interested users” (paragraph 4 of article "II”)[14].

In this case, it is interesting that voicing this idea the UN General Assembly did not limit the prospect of using "rocket launching facilities” and outer space only by States and only for the benefit of States, but offered participation in space activities to any interested entities (that is, self-sufficient individuals). It should be noted that, first of all, this is the merit of the United States delegate, who insisted on such a perspective when discussing this resolution[2, p. 149].

In addition, separately, it is necessary to draw attention to the fact that this resolution includes information on a new subject of space activities, which the UN General Assembly called the "astronaut” (paragraph 1 of the article "I”)[14].

At the same time, this resolution did not address issues related to the exploration and use of "celestial bodies”, and did not address issues related to the regulation of relations with non-State participants of space activities, but focused only on the regulation of relations among States in "Outer space”.

Treaty banning nuclear weapon tests in the Atmosphere, in outer space and under water. In 1962 one of the most terrible events in the history of space exploration took place - the nuclear test in near-Earth orbit. A 1.4 megaton nuclear test (USA) 400 km above Earth created such large EMP emissions that it disabled seven satellites in low earth orbit[17, p. 418]. These actions almost led to the destruction of the Earth's orbital space and irreparable damage to the Earth.