The history of the rescue agreement began shortly after the start of the space age with a 1959 report of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space: “Problems with the re-entry and landing of spacecraft will exist both with respect to unmanned spacecraft and later with respect to manned exploration vehicles. Recognizing that landings can be caused by accident, error or distress, the members of the Committee drew attention to the desirability of concluding multilateral agreements on re-entry and disembarkation. Issues that could be covered by such agreements include the return of the vehicle itself to take-off and, in the case of a crewed vehicle, provisions for the prompt return of personnel. »; The 1963 Declaration of Principles would soon be recognized as binding customary international law. Second, the 1968 Rescue Agreement was to be adopted shortly after the entry into force of the Outer Space Treaty in 1967. Article 3 provides: “Where information is received or it is established that the personnel of a spacecraft have landed on the high seas or in another place not under the jurisdiction of a State, Parties capable of doing so shall, if necessary, assist such personnel in search and rescue operations in order to ensure their rapid rescue. They shall inform the Launching Authority and the Secretary-General of the United Nations of the measures they have taken and of their progress. Article 5 deals with the return of space objects and is perhaps the most obvious example of how the Rescue Agreement developed the core obligations under the Outer Space Treaty. The last sentence of article VIII of the Outer Space Treaty merely imposes an obligation on the parties to return space objects to the launching authority, provided that identification data are provided upon request. Article 5 of the 1968 Rescue Treaty provides for a number of subsidiary rights and obligations. 4. Requests the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space to finalize the draft agreement on liability for damage caused by the firing of objects into outer space, and in any event no later than the beginning of the twenty-third session of the General Assembly, and to submit it to the Assembly at that session; The 1968 Rescue Agreement, or Agreement on the Rescue of Astronauts, the Return of Astronauts and the Return of Objects Launched into Outer Space, the Second Outer Space Treaty, drafted within the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, was adopted on 19 December by 115 votes to 0.
1967, opened for signature in Washington, London and Moscow on 22 April 1968 and entered into force on 3 December 1968. As of January 2019, ninety-eight states had ratified the 1968 rescue agreement. The rescue agreement has been criticized for its vagueness, particularly with regard to the definition of who has the right to rescue and the definition of what constitutes a spacecraft and its components. The financial burden of a rescue mission is also not addressed in the agreement. The rescue agreement stipulates that the State of departure must bear the cost of recovering a vehicle that crashes in the territory of another State. However, the agreement does not mention the cost of rescuing astronauts. Article 3 provides for the rescue of personnel of a spacecraft that has “landed” on the high seas or in another place not under the jurisdiction of a State. Thus, in addition to requiring the rescue of astronauts who have landed on the high seas, article V of the Outer Space Treaty would require that rescue operations be carried out when a landing has taken place on the Moon or other celestial bodies or on a terrestrial area on the surface of the Earth that is not subject to the jurisdiction of a State. like Antarctica.
Article 2 provides: “If the personnel of a spacecraft lands in the territory of a Contracting Party as a result of an accident, emergency, emergency landing or unintentional landing, it shall immediately take all possible measures to rescue it and shall provide it with all necessary assistance. It shall inform the launching authority and the Secretary-General of the United Nations of the measures it has taken and of its progress. Where the support of the launching authority would contribute to immediate rescue or contribute significantly to the effectiveness of search and rescue operations, the launching authority shall cooperate with the Party for the effective conduct of search and rescue operations. Such measures shall be subject to the direction and control of the Party, acting in close and continuous consultation with the launching authority. »; Article 6 of the 1968 Rescue Agreement contains provisions of significant substantive importance, formulated in the form of a definition of “departure authority”. This article provides a mechanism for an international organization to benefit from the benefits and obligations of the Convention to the extent that it is applicable to the activities of international organizations. The Agreement on the Rescue of Astronauts, the Return of Astronauts and the Return of Objects Launched into Space, also known as the Rescue Agreement, is an international agreement that establishes the rights and obligations of States with respect to the rescue of persons in outer space. The Agreement was established by consensus at the United Nations General Assembly on 19 December 1967 (resolution 2345 (XXII)). It entered into force on 3 December 1968.
Its provisions deal with the rescue provisions of article V of the 1967 Outer Space Treaty. Although the rescue agreement is more specific and detailed than the rescue provision in article V of the Outer Space Treaty, it still suffers from vague wording and the possibility of different interpretations. In the light of its resolution 2260 (XXII) of 3. November 1967, requesting the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space to continue its work on the elaboration of an agreement on liability for damage caused by the interception of objects in outer space and an agreement on the support and return of astronauts and spacecraft with this request, When the treaty was drafted, the prospect of saving space travelers was unlikely due to the limited launch capabilities of spacemen. the most advanced space programs, but it has since become more plausible. For example, I and later the International Space Station waited for the Docked Russian Soyuz spacecraft, which can be used as an evacuation mechanism in the event of an emergency in orbit. In some scenarios, this ship can also help with a rescue. The United Nations General Assembly adopted the text of the Rescue Agreement on 19 December 1967 by resolution 2345 (XXII). The Agreement was opened for signature on 22 April 1968 and entered into force on 3 December 1968. As of January 2019, 98 States had ratified the rescue agreement, 23 had signed it, and three international intergovernmental organizations (the European Space Agency, the International Inter-Summit Space Communications Organization and the European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites) had declared that they accepted the rights and obligations under the agreement.
[1] A significant shift in attitude towards in-orbit rescues occurred in the wake of the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, after which NASA took steps to prepare for STS-3xx or Launch on Need missions to provide relief in certain scenarios. [2] However, this capability was never exercised during the remainder of the Space Shuttle program. The rescue agreement essentially provides that any State that is a party to the agreement must provide all possible assistance to rescue the personnel of a spacecraft that has landed on the territory of that State, whether as a result of an accident, emergency, emergency landing or unintentional landing. If the emergency situation occurs in an area outside the territory of a nation, any State Party capable of providing assistance to the search and rescue operation, if necessary: The controversy over this article arose from the sensitivity of States, which would be obliged to take “all possible measures” to rescue persons who have landed in their respective territories without their consent, and to implicitly allow representatives of the launching authority to enter if their assistance “would contribute significantly to the effectiveness of search and rescue operations”. The relevance of an international treaty is measured not only by the rationality, coherence and scope of its provisions, but also by the extent to which it is effectively implemented. Implementation under international treaties refers to both implementation by law, i.e. by nation-states in their national jurisdictions, and the actual enforcement claimed in relation to actual events, situations or disputes. The 1968 Rescue Agreement now reflects a broad consensus of views on the procedures that should be considered applicable to the rescue of astronauts, the return of astronauts and the return of space objects. 6.This Convention shall be registered by the depositary Governments in accordance with Article 102 of the Charter of the United Nations. Recognizing the great importance of the Treaty of Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, which calls for the provision of all possible assistance to astronauts in the event of an accident, emergency or emergency landing, and the immediate and safe return of astronauts, this definition of “starting power” through the participation of intergovernmental organizations is broader than the concept of “state of departure”, which governs the application of both the Liability Convention and the Registration Convention. .
