Outer Space Treaty

The Outer Space Treaty, officially known as the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, prohibits States Parties from placing any weapons of mass destruction in orbit around Earth, on the Moon, on any other celestial body, or on any space station. The Treaty restricts the use of the Moon and other celestial bodies to only peaceful purposes. Under the Treaty, the use of space for weapons testing, military maneuvers, or the placement of military installations is expressly prohibited. It provides the basic framework for international space law.

The treaty also establishes that all astronauts shall be considered envoys of mankind. It promotes scientific and technological cooperation in the exploration of space. It makes governments accountable for not only governmental agencies originating from that nation, but also non-governmental entities. Although it prohibited government ownership of the moon, the Treaty did not address private enterprises. The unsuccessful Moon Treaty of 1979, if it had been ratified, would have forbidden the use of space for private business profit.

The Outer Space Treaty establishes that the Moon is property of all mankind. It restricts private property rights in space, similar to how the "law of the sea prevents any one entity from owning international waters.

Current Status

As of January 2006, 98 nations have ratified the Treaty and 27 more are signatories.

Green: Signed and Ratified

Yellow: Signed Only

History

The Antarctic Treaty of 1951 banned the use of Antarctica for military purposes, including weapons testing. On September 22, 1960, US President Eisenhower proposed to the UN General Assembly that the principles of the Antarctic Treaty be applied to outer space. The Soviet Union resisted the restriction of the use of outer space as long as US foreign bases stocked with short-range and medium-range missiles were in existence. After signing the Partial Test Ban Treaty, the Soviet Union changed its position and no longer linked an outer space agreement with the issue of foreign bases. On September 19, 1963, USSR Foreign Minister Gromyko informed the General Assembly that the Soviet Union wished to conclude an agreement banning the deployment of nuclear weapons in space. The US responded that it had no intention of placing weapons of mass destruction in space. The General Assembly adopted resolution 1884 in October 1963 welcoming the positions of the USSR and the US.

In 1963, the General Assembly adopted the Declaration of Legal Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space in resolution 1962. This was the substantial basis for the Outer Space Treaty.

In 1965 the United States pushed for a treaty that would make the calls in Resolution 1884 binding upon all states. On June 16, 1966, both the US and the USSR submitted draft documents. The US draft dealt only with celestial bodies while the Soviet draft dealt with the entire space environment. The US accepted the Soviet draft on the issue of the scope of the treaty. The text of the treaty was considered by the Legal Committee of the General Assembly in 1966. An agreement was reached in the General Assembly by the end of the year.

The Outer Space Treaty was opened for signature on January 27, 1967. It entered into force on October 10, 1967. After the Treaty entered into force, the US and the Soviet Union joined together to launch jointly planned and manned space operations.