Implication générale pour les affaires internationales et la politique étrangère

Ce chapitre concerne les relations interactives de la planification, des besoins, et des réalisations des programmes spatiaux avec les politiques et les arrangements organisationnels des nations et corps internationaux. Une attention est particulièrement portée sur les implications internationales de l'activité spatiale et de ses contrôle, régulation, inspection et opération qui sont d'un aspect plus large que ceux spécifiquement pertinents à des événements potentiels tels que les communications globales et les prédications météo discutées dans les chapitres antérieurs.

La participation à l'exploration spatiale dans des buts pacifiques pourrait ne pas apporter à une quelconque nation ou groupe de nations de nombreux avantages positifs sur des participants tout aussi sérieux, mais chaque nation ou groupe améliorerait probablement sa position par rapport aux nations ne pouvant participer ou ne choississant pas de le faire. Cependant, la conséquence pour une puissance majeure de participer complètement, légèrement ou pas du tout reste toujours largement un sujet de conjecture. Certains observateurs informés pensent que, si les puissances majeures décidaient on all out competition dans leurs programmes spatiaux, les effets sociaux, économiques et militaires des activités (à côté des effets que le statut opérationnel des missiles intercontinentaux avec têtes nucléaires est déjà jugé avoir eu) n'altéreraient pas significativement les relations existantes entre les puissances, bien que, selon un observateur, les effets de prestige pourraient en fait se révéler être la conséquence majeure des activités spatiales externes dans le système international.

  1. Mais il est également conjecturé que des développements technologiques prévisibles aiguiseront des tensions existantes entre les Etats-Unis et l'Union Soviétique et fourniront des sources fructueuses à de nouvelles... Il est certain que l'exploitation competitive de l'espace ouvre une nouvelle arène pour la conduite d'une guerre froide, limitée et même non froide.
  2. Les conclusions de la recherche qui seront suggérées ici pourraient contribuer à une compréhension de la manière dont l'impact du programme spatial pacifique d'une nation peut être analysé.
  3. Les études sont principalement liées, cependant, aux opportunités d'avancées positives dans la politique des Etats-Unis pour arriver à un monde pacifique sur le plan de la sécurité à travers de nouvelles formes de coopération international ou une opération unilatérale dans le domaine spatial. Bien qu'il soit possible que l'activité spatiale puisse éventuellement être totalement internationalisée, il est supposé ici que dans le premier cas les Etats-Unis auront un programme spatial majeure qui sera substantiellement opéré et financé domestiquement et auquel ne pourrait se comparer en taille et variété que le programme soviétique et éventuellement 1 des 2 autres (les implications d'un programme exclusivement internationalisé ou supranationalisé demanderaient des études similaires à celles suggérées ici, en ce qu'ils devraient être conçues pour augmenter la compréhension de la manière dont les activités spatiales pourraient contribuer à une politique mondiale pacifique).

La politique spatiale et sa mise en œuvre

The guidelines for space policy as laid down in 1958 by national and international groups implied these outstanding stipulations-.

  1. that outer space be used for nonmilitary purposes only,
  2. that outer space should especially be used for genuine scientific exploration,
  3. that the contributions of both domestic and foreign nongovernmental organizations to space activities should be encouraged, and
  4. that international organizations and other forms of international cooperation should play a major role in the use of outer space. 4/ For a variety of reasons, these four stipulations have not been fully heeded since 1958. The military interest in missiles was already well established at that time and has not yet been the subject of serious arms control negotiation. 5-/ It has extended to some specific satellite systems and to an unspecifiable number of basic experiments employing rockets and satellites. The organization and implementation of the United States space
    program now emphasizes a duality NASA and its rocket and satellite
    activities are dedicated to a policy of "openness" and essentially peaceful
    endeavor, whereas the experiments and satellite systems of the Department
    of Defense are kept secret -- to the extent that this is possible or militarily
    desirable and are intended to serve military purposes. 6/ The inherent
    difficulty of maintaining this duality in the international context is reflected
    in the occasional interpretations of scientific and technical feats as
    demonstrations of military prowess and of military testing and operations as
    innocent scientific inquiries. Scientific space exploration has been to some
    extent mixed with activities of two other types: those that primarily have
    military applications, and those that primarily are propaganda efforts
    designed to maintain a popular image of our national stature as impressive
    and forward looking.

7/ The opportunities for private initiative which existed during the IGY and
which some competent observers regarded as an essential contribution to the
distinctive success of the IGY and the organization of its early satellite and
rocket programs are either no longer present to the same extent or are kept
within stricter bounds by the interests of both national and international
governmental agencies. Prior to the creation of NASA, the scientific aspects of
our earth satellite programs were the responsibility of the U.S. National
Committee for the IGY, operating under the nongovernmental National
Academy of Sciences. 8/ NASA now has the responsibility for satellite and
rocket programs , and the Space Science Board of the National Academy
makes recommendations to NASA and otherwise acts in an important
advisory capacity to operating agencies. There has thus been some shift of
THE BROOKINGS INSTITUTION - Final Report
"Proposed Studies on the Implications of Peaceful Space Activities for Human Affairs"
Prepared by MultiMedia Magic, Inc.
All text formatting © Copyright 1996 by MultiMedia Magic, Inc.
185
planning and operations from nongovernmental to governmental
organizations.
The trend toward governmental responsibility is supplemented by a further
trend toward national and bilateral activities-as compared with the use of
international organizations or multilateral mechanisms of international
cooperation, The ad hoc committee which the United Nations established to
consider the peaceful uses of space concluded that the United Nations should
not play an active role in space operations. An early suggestion that the
United States might launch complete scientific payloads that would be
recommended by the Committee for Space Research (COSPAR) of the
International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU) appears to have been
neglected in favor of bilateral arrangements, about which COSPAR is kept
informed and its advice and comment sought. 9/ The plans of the
International Astronautical Federation to establish an Academy of
Astronautics and an Institute of Space Law have had no cooperation from
Soviet and certain other participants, who stated that existing international
arrangements in the space field were adequate. 10/
It was the hope of many who were involved in the IGY and the early stages of
our space program that important nongovernmental and international
groups would play a significant part in furthering the United States' policy of
espousing the peaceful and scientific use of space. That the hope has not been
fulfilled to any large degree is undoubtedly owing in part to the sizable
physical and economic requirements of many space activities and the rapid
incorporation of space strategy into military strategy (compared to the rate of
its incorporation into nonmilitary planning) as well as to the mutual
suspicions of the United States and the Soviet Union. However, it is
increasingly clear that the original publicly stated guidelines for space policy
were incapable of being maintained undiluted -- because detailed knowledge
of how to maintain them was lacking. 11/ Good intentions alone cannot meet the challenges inherent in this complex
field. They must be supported by a detailed working knowledge of the bearing
of international affairs on the design and operation of experiments,
equipment, and organization concerned with technical matters; on the
drafting and negotiation of enforceable agreements about technical subjects;
and on the accurate and timely assessment of social and material impacts of
scientific and technological developments. The technological and social
complexity of these problems will also require the systematic application of
the findings of intensive research in the behavioral sciences, such as
anthropology, social psychology, and sociology.
One of the science advisers to the President has stated the need for general
research in respect to the whole of science in relation to foreign affairs:
"Essential to these efforts is the development of an academic field of teaching
THE BROOKINGS INSTITUTION - Final Report
"Proposed Studies on the Implications of Peaceful Space Activities for Human Affairs"
Prepared by MultiMedia Magic, Inc.
All text formatting © Copyright 1996 by MultiMedia Magic, Inc.
186
and research in the interrelationship of science and foreign affairs, in order to
provide education in and better understanding of the underlying significance
and opportunities of this relationship." 12/
Research on Potential International Aspects of Space Technology and Science
Sharing of costs
The equipment systems for a space program involve missiles, sounding
rockets, earth satellites, deep space probes, and ground-based resources such as
tracking, communications, launching, and recovery facilities, telescopes, and
centers for data reduction and analysis. The cost of such systems is so large
that few nations can support a major program, and at present only the United
States and the Soviet Union do so, although there has been discussion of a
multinational European program. 13/ The vast resources required for the
United States' effort -- and those even more vast foreseen for the future -have
prompted suggestions that world-wide cooperation be sought. 14/ How the
costs might be shared, however, or what the consequences might be for the
control of policies and program has not been made clear. The economic costs
of any space program must ultimately be translated in terms of allocating
specialized and therefore fairly limited materials and manpower. Thus,
supplementary background research is desirable to determine:
[-148]
• What are the size and nature of sharable costs of individual facilities
or pieces of hardware and of separate units of world wide networks
associated with space activities. (Relevant estimates of the technical
feasibility of having separate nations provide components for each
system might be assisted by the experience of NASA and the
Department of Defense with the system of prime contractors and
subcontractors.) This general inquiry would provide one basis for
assessing the significance of such sharing arrangements as those
among NATO powers and the possibility that the domestic savings
could be used effectively for other purposes. 15/ **
• Which nations are potential suppliers of personnel talents, special
pieces of hardware, and the more routine "housekeeping" needs of a
large enterprise. This inquiry could provide a basis for estimating the
extent to which the U.S. program might be shared and also the
viability of possible regional programs in Europe and Asia. 16/
• Who would be the potential beneficiaries from the benefits gained by
sharing costs. (From an international point of view, the potential
users of specific direct and indirect products of a space program may
well be more limited than the universe of potential specific
contributors.)
THE BROOKINGS INSTITUTION - Final Report
"Proposed Studies on the Implications of Peaceful Space Activities for Human Affairs"
Prepared by MultiMedia Magic, Inc.
All text formatting © Copyright 1996 by MultiMedia Magic, Inc.
187
Clear examples of intranational payment arrangements are furnished by the
hourly rental use by NASA of the Jodrell Bank radio telescope in England and
related-equipment and the purchase by various European nations of the Asp
and similar U.S. sounding rockets. 17/ The experience of American scientists,
government agencies, and businesses in hiring foreign personnel to carry on
technical investigations or to process data in their own countries could also be
informative. It would be appropriate to study:
• Existing arrangements for international payments for space science or
related activities and the indicated opportunities for further
specifying the costs and returns of international space activities on an
economic basis.
The technical operations on which various nations cooperated during the
IGY included many of special pertinence to space programs, among them the
provision of satellite tracking devices and launching of sounding rockets. The
total experience -- including the economic benefits that may have resulted
directly from the space technology and activities of the IGY -- in this
multinational cost sharing should provide useful insights into some of the
problems of a shared space program. 18/ It would be appropriate to study:
[-149]
• The costs and benefits of various IGY programs, and, in the light of
those, the ability of different nations and their scientific groups to
support such work on a continuing basis.
The imaginations of the engineers and scientists involved in space programs
have demonstrated their capacity to strain the human resources and purse
strings of even the mightiest nations. The enormous scale of the human and
economic activities thus created has produced major administrative problems
and a pressing need to establish mechanisms for coordinated and cooperative
efforts. It is obvious that the international factors inherent in space operations
magnify such problems; for example, the increase of science activities on an
international scale prompted the inclusion of an arbitration clause for the
first time in the charter of ICSU special committee. 19/ The problems
involved in sharing equipment and operations with friendly nations, let
alone with suspicious political competitors, and in estimating the ultimate
benefits and cost of such sharing cannot be efficiently defined or solved on an
ad hoc basis. Very carefully designed studies are necessary to determine:
• The economic, managerial, legal, and political aspects of specific
(albeit hypothetical), economically motivated proposals for booster,
data center, or tracking station sharing by, for instance, NATO nations
' or other groups of nations, or the United States and the Soviet. 20/
At the present time the United States is providing financial support in one
form or another for a very large portion of the free world's space program.
(The consequences of this for the United States are not entirely clear at
THE BROOKINGS INSTITUTION - Final Report
"Proposed Studies on the Implications of Peaceful Space Activities for Human Affairs"
Prepared by MultiMedia Magic, Inc.
All text formatting © Copyright 1996 by MultiMedia Magic, Inc.
188
present, but they apparently include the development of a unilateral space
policy on our part and -- possibly -- a reluctance to give financial support to
some other scientific or nonscientific projects which might also further our
international objectives.) There are a variety of ways in which support is
given to foreign space enterprises. For example, certain U.S. facilities abroad
provide for local participation and free use of equipment when it is not
otherwise needed. We also, as noted earlier, contract for the use by the hour
of an existing laboratory installation.
[-150]
To some extent the potentialities for new space discoveries by scientists in
foreign laboratories thus depend on the breadth of the mandate of funding
agencies such as NASA, the National Science Foundation, and the
Department of Defense. Other consequences of the situation are not known,
but should be known. Research is necessary to determine:
• The various ways in which financial support is now given to foreign
space enterprises and possible means of broadening the range of
available methods. The similarities and differences between the
various domestic and foreign approaches to financing research
should be examined. (A domestic equivalent of this same problem is
the manner in which government agencies support academic and
industrial research and development work. 21/)
• The ways in which foreign currencies resulting from the sale of U.S.
surplus foods abroad, special tax provisions, other mechanisms for
encouraging public or private expenditures and investments abroad
might aid international cooperation on our space program. 22/
• The influence U.S. economic support in its various forms can have
on the character, quality, and quantity of scientific and technical work
done abroad.
Although the direct cost of supporting leading space scientists and engineers
and their intellectual exchanges of ideas and information is small compared
with the over-all cost of a space program, the implications of such support in
respect to the international aspects of a space program should not be
overlooked. Scientists in every country are, for instance, dependent on
modest but nevertheless tangible financial support merely to keep
themselves and others informed of the current state of knowledge. It has been
suggested by responsible persons that the rules of COSPAR and its parent
organization, ICSU, governing the expenses for staff and travel might limit
the usefulness of COSPAR as a representative body which can maintain and
encourage interest in space research. 23/
Relevant knowledge and understanding of the interplay of financing,
administration, program planning, and operations in the context of
THE BROOKINGS INSTITUTION - Final Report
"Proposed Studies on the Implications of Peaceful Space Activities for Human Affairs"
Prepared by MultiMedia Magic, Inc.
All text formatting © Copyright 1996 by MultiMedia Magic, Inc.
189
international scientific and technical activities could be gained from case
studies of:
[-151]
• The International Atomic Energy Agency and the mariner in which
economic arrangements have influenced its policies and technical
character. 24/
• The administration and financing of the European Center for
Nuclear Research (CERN). The Center has been discussed as the
model for a European Space Research Organization. 25/
• The arrangement whereby the federal government participated in the
United States IGY program with especial attention to the satellite and
rocket program as designed and carried out by the National Academy
of Sciences. This arrangement deserves special study because of the
novelty of this mechanism on the American scene, the approval
which it appears to have had among a considerable number of
scientists, and the direct bearing of the program on our subsequent
space policies and programs.
• The proposals for public or private financial support of the activities
of the World Meteorological Organization, The International
Telecommunication Union, COSPAR, a NATO Space Science group,
and the IAF Academy of Astronautics and Institute of Space Law.
These should be examined to discover the likely roles of the financial
supporters and the possible implications for internal controls over
financing and financial. decision making. 26/
The need for special skills
The extraordinary variety of special skill, talents, and interests required for a
space program. may exhaust the specialized manpower reservoir of any one
nation; the need suggests many opportunities for cooperation. NASA
operates -- alone or jointly -- a number of overseas optical tracking and
minitrack stations which employ other than American personnel in technical
positions. 27/ Although the tasks to be performed in such positions are quite
clearly defined, there appear to be considerable room for resourcefulness -- for
instance, where research stations may have opportunities for independent
space research. 28/
A space program imposes unusual demands for close coordination between
scientists and engineers and the developments of "teams" of participants. It
may also demand the -retraining of individuals and the introduction of new
and exotic skills. In the international context these demands pose additional
problems. Possible frictional divisions of labor exist between basic design
work, the preparation of necessary hardware (including instrumentation) for
satellites or rocket-probe launchings, and the processes of recording,
THE BROOKINGS INSTITUTION - Final Report
"Proposed Studies on the Implications of Peaceful Space Activities for Human Affairs"
Prepared by MultiMedia Magic, Inc.
All text formatting © Copyright 1996 by MultiMedia Magic, Inc.
190
analyzing, or applying the resulting information. 29/If, as seems possible in
terms of available manpower resources, few individuals and groups here or
abroad will be able to make a balanced contribution covering all functions, it
would be desirable to study the significant political and social factors having
to do with the allocation of controls and responsibility and with the
distribution of benefits and prestige associated with the final product.
[-152]
Professional scientists, engineers, and other specially interested persons may
participate in the United States' program directly rather than as
representatives of the interests of other countries or of international
organizations. Such participants could be of varying advantage or
disadvantage for the program. It is possible that they would have differing
ideas about the relationship of a space program to other competing
endeavors. They may have conflicting national loyalties; be looked upon with
special respect or suspicion by their countrymen; embarrass efforts at secrecy
whether or not they are privy to secrets, since a well-trained mind can
sometimes produce or analyze technical capabilities without benefit of
confidential knowledge. Differing estimates of suitable proportions of
emphasis within or between space sciences and space technologies could be a
source of disagreement between professionals hailing from variously
oriented regions. Such disagreements could easily lead to international
friction and hence weakening of our international posture.
If participation of skilled individuals from different regions of the world
becomes, as would seem likely, a prerequisite for a comprehensive space
program or is desirable also for major policy reasons, research will be
necessary concerning:
• The problem of standardizing terminology, procedures, and training.
• Incentives for special training, working conditions, and personal
economic security appropriate to different societies. In this context
special attention should be given to the tendency of some persons or
groups contributing skills to exploit secrecy or gain priority rights
over scientific data; ways to counteract this should be sought if the
interests of science and the program could better be served by more
complete sharing of data and skills.
• Appropriate means for instituting world-wide inventories of
technical talents and for measuring interests as they might bear on a
space program. Such a study might build upon general investigations
already under way of scientific and technical resources and needs.
[-153]
The complex and costly supporting apparatus for most space science activity
makes it particularly important that persons who might provide key ideas be
THE BROOKINGS INSTITUTION - Final Report
"Proposed Studies on the Implications of Peaceful Space Activities for Human Affairs"
Prepared by MultiMedia Magic, Inc.
All text formatting © Copyright 1996 by MultiMedia Magic, Inc.
191
discovered and drawn upon regardless of their country of origin. There is
need for a more adequate knowledge of how to develop, use, and coordinate
many different talents in many different countries. 31/ One useful approach
to this problem would be to study:
• Instances of collaborative international and supranational scientific
undertakings, including comparative studies of: foreign trainee and
research programs as developed by universities, the AEC, and the
Defense Department; the operation of CERN; and various technical
aid projects of the IGY program, including such situations as the
integration of foreign scientists at IGY stations in the Antarctic that
illustrate working relations between local and foreign-trained
personnel.
The activities of COSPAR and the IAF contribute on the international level
to the recruitment and training of persons with skills needed for space
programs. These organizations and perhaps others which may come to
surpass them in importance need to be studied to determine:
• The opportunities that are offered by organizations with inter
national scientific and engineering interests for the recruitment and
training of scientists, and the political, economic or social factors that
might facilitate or hinder these opportunities.
Since the end of World War II individuals from many parts of the world
have come to the United States for training in nuclear physics and
engineering, in relation to atomic energy programs. it has been pointed out by
informed persons that these trainees have not always been able to use their
new and very specialized talents effectively on returning to their native
countries, and that this sometimes results in personal and official frustrations
which can have serious consequences for the training programs and the
enlargement of the specific technologies involved. In regard to NASA's offer
to support foreign scientists on fellowships for training in space technology, it
would be desirable, then, to examine the possible parallel in relation to the
danger of over specialization. Much basic information could be gained
through study of:
[-154]
• The positions now occupied by foreign scientists who have been
trained in nuclear physics since World War II, and the prospective
positions for those foreign students who might be encouraged to
specialize in some aspect of space science or engineering.
In addition to utilizing already available skills, the opportunities for
developing such skills in countries where persons having them are scarce or
nonexistent are worth exploring. However, consideration should be given to
the following questions. In the light of the specific values and ambitions of
such countries, will training personnel in the skills pertinent to space
THE BROOKINGS INSTITUTION - Final Report
"Proposed Studies on the Implications of Peaceful Space Activities for Human Affairs"
Prepared by MultiMedia Magic, Inc.
All text formatting © Copyright 1996 by MultiMedia Magic, Inc.
192
activities be seen as the best way to use their scarce, talented manpower? Can
technical participation in space-related activities provide means also of other
training and participation that would be useful to these countries for reaching
their own goals (e.g., operating hydroelectric installations)? Research is
desirable to:
• Provide means for classifying United States space projects in terms of
the contributions they might make to the economic or other
development of specific nation- 32/
• Design and use means for measuring long-run and short-run benefits
which a nation might derive from the exploitation of its various
capabilities in the sciences and technology.
• Determine the cost and benefits to the United States of encouraging
the participation of other nations by training technologists for them
in space activities.
The use of technological by-products abroad
The discussion in Chapter 5 of the possible by-products of the space program
included several that might have use abroad. One special form of b@ product
which may have particularly important international implications is the
equipment that has been outmoded by the rapid technological advances
during the developmental phases of various space projects.
The innovations needed in some regions of the world may differ radically in
kinds and degree from those needed in others. A technological device that
has been rendered obsolescent for the needs of a demanding development
program by the program's own rapid pace may very well meet a pressing need
in another setting. The high degree of automation, miniaturization, and high
reliability that is necessary in space technology suggests, for instance, that
"surplus" devices with these characteristics might have special usefulness in
regions where, due to present lack of technical knowledge, maintenance
services are rudimentary. Thus it would be appropriate to examine:
[-155]
• Prospects and problems in the distribution and peaceful use of
surplus space equipment in technically "backward" parts of the world.
• Possible ways of identifying in advance specific surpluses of usable
and adaptable first, second, and subsequent generation rockets,
payload instruments, ground support equipment, and
communications systems which could create a viable "foreign
market." 33/
• Possible analogies between the disposition of surplus space
equipment and the disposition overseas of World War II and more
recent surplus military and civilian equipment.
THE BROOKINGS INSTITUTION - Final Report
"Proposed Studies on the Implications of Peaceful Space Activities for Human Affairs"
Prepared by MultiMedia Magic, Inc.
All text formatting © Copyright 1996 by MultiMedia Magic, Inc.
193
• The bearing of past experience on how both government agencies and
private industry can and should arrange overseas disposal. of such
surpluses and utilize other by-products of the space program.
Geographical factors and their effects on space operations as and national
prerogatives
A country's location may lend it special importance with respect to one or
another aspect of a space project. For example, to put satellites into special
orbits -- such as equatorial or polar -- some locations are more advantageous
for launchings than others. 34/ Tracking and recovery requirements for
various operations necessitate cooperation from nations whose sites and
terrainal features make them important to these tasks. Rocket soundings of
the atmosphere may also put a premium on the use of certain sites.
National efforts to be independent of international cooperation and
coordination in relation to these considerations may not only add to the
expense of a program, but also restrict it in various ways. The technological
feasibility of some programs could depend on multinational cooperation. 35/
And of course the extent of cooperation will affect both the opportunities for
involvement of scientists and engineers from different countries and the
kinds of scientific work undertaken in a given project. 36/
Because each geographical location is typically under the control of only one
nation if it is not part of the high seas, important international aspects are
thus built into many space projects. These may possibly be anticipated with
the aid of research concerned with:
[- 156]
• Problems and opportunities likely to arise from geographical assets or
liabilities for particular space activities and the range of political legal
means available for suitable national responses. 37/
• Specific compilations and evaluations of the legal and political factors
affecting the status of testing ranges in the oceans, globe-circling
reconnaissance devices of all types, and similarly identifiable
problems. 38/
• Retrospective examination of haw international legal and political
problems were posed and disposed of in connection with some of the
IGY activities.
Contributions to science
Characteristically, major scientific discoveries and developments have
ultimately transcended national boundaries, and there is no reason to
suppose that those resulting from space programs will be exceptions.
However, such a space discovery may also have short-term advantages for the
THE BROOKINGS INSTITUTION - Final Report
"Proposed Studies on the Implications of Peaceful Space Activities for Human Affairs"
Prepared by MultiMedia Magic, Inc.
All text formatting © Copyright 1996 by MultiMedia Magic, Inc.
194
one nation or another that can exploit it soonest. In such case, cooperation
might then be effaced by a severe struggle, which the scientists themselves
would either participate in or be helpless to modify, and which would disrupt
the program development of the nations involved. It seems obvious that a
well-established and firmly regulated plan for global data sharing is the
preventive measure that might best guard against such situations. Thus the
progress of science would benefit from studies that developed:
• Comparisons and evaluations, from the standpoints of scientific,
national, and commercial concerns, of the relative utility and
applicability to expected space-derived data of practices developed for
international science data sharing. A study of the formal and actual
arrangements for depositing data in the IGY World Data Centers,
with special reference to the space sciences, .might well reveal the
particular problems and interests confronting scientific groups in
different nations in their attempts to participate in the global
scientific community.
Of special importance for the advance of space science is the possibility that
some scientific discoveries or experiments may be temporarily or
permanently impaired by unilateral national activities. Even assuming that
an agreeable definition of purely peaceful scientific exploration could be
arrived at, careful study will be required to determine;
[-157]
• The suitability of possible controls over the launching and operation
of scientific satellites and the means by which these satellites, or other
space vehicles and activities, could be protected from interference or
destruction.
The danger that space discoveries might be impaired by indiscriminate
activities has been foreseen. Some of the requirements for protecting radio
astronomy and investigations of the existence of biological organisms in
outer space have been delineated; 39/ other activities, however, which might
effectively hinder future scientific inquiry must be expected. (The proposed
orbiting of a belt of tiny wires as part of a communications system is a case in
point; according to some scientists this could "block the passage of signals
employed in other vital space projects." 40/)
Because of the global and all-encompassing nature of space science
experiments, the actions of one nation or group could have an enduring
detrimental effect on all scientific investigations of a certain sort. COSPAR
has now assumed the obligation to protect the interests of science insofar as it
can by alerting scientific communities to the possible consequences of rash
space explorations and by stimulating voluntary agreements to take
standardized precautionary measures. It cannot be assumed, however, that
those scientists whose work would be most affected are necessarily in the best
THE BROOKINGS INSTITUTION - Final Report
"Proposed Studies on the Implications of Peaceful Space Activities for Human Affairs"
Prepared by MultiMedia Magic, Inc.
All text formatting © Copyright 1996 by MultiMedia Magic, Inc.
195
position to recognize the danger and effectively enforce the behavior which
their science requires. 41/ There is a need to initiate research to determine:
• Appropriate means for identifying and weighing the consequences
for science and for society of irrevocable acts related to space
exploration and exploitation.
• Various means -- available and further required -- for inter national
regulation of scientifically undesirable space activities.
THE BROOKINGS INSTITUTION - Final Report
"Proposed Studies on the Implications of Peaceful Space Activities for Human Affairs"
Prepared by MultiMedia Magic, Inc.
All text formatting © Copyright 1996 by MultiMedia Magic, Inc.
196

The Status of Space Programs in International Affairs

Within the foreign affairs context, a space program accelerates the blurring of the well-developed administrative and diplomatic distinctions between private and official activities and between military and peaceful activities. In the United States the distinction between the private and official activities of any citizen has been an important one, but it may now have to be reinterpreted as the space program is developed and executed as an integral part of U.S. foreign policy.

Traditionally the private aspects of a scientist's work have been emphasized, but as scientific research increasingly requires more cooperative effort and financial support and produces information of obvious and direct national importance it takes on public and even official aspects. There is a question of both the manner and extent to which scientists here and abroad have beeninstructed" in the interests of their countries and the extent to which governments have preserved domains set aside for the exercise of private and unofficial initiative on scientific and technological matters having international implications. These intangibles need to be identified and studied.

Many international rules and regulations are based on clear distinctions between military and peaceful activities and equipment. 42/ The components of a full space program are not, however, inherently amenable to simple classification on this basis, as the following comment of a former leading scientific adviser to the government indicates: I find it just as difficult to differentiate between military and nonmilitary science as I do between national and foreign policy in this contracting universe. The electronicnuclear, micro-organic-astronautical age in which we live is only a military age if we choose to apply these scientific areas to military activities and becomes a peaceful age if we create peaceful applications for these scientific developments." 43/

There are many potential international ramifications of this lack of clear separation of military and nonmilitary aspects of space exploitation, some of which pose problems while others offer opportunities. Overtly peaceful explorations of space may conceal military preparations or else serve as demonstrations of potential military might, whether or not this is intended; 44/ some military space activities may possess considerable inherent technical and scientific interest and receive assistance and approval on that basis. However, nations may have an increasing interest in demonstrating, with the aid of objective standards, the exclusively peaceful nature of particular space projects. 45/ If we plan to make major efforts to convince ourselves and the world of the distinction between our peaceful and military activities in space, it is desirable to understand the attitudes toward these two types of space activity held by those in other nations. 46/

Popular and leadership attitudes in other countries toward United States reconnaissance satellites and toward statements concerning the orbiting of weapons merit careful. evaluation. Although no definitive data have been collected on the matter, there is evidence of a widespread feeling that satellites can fall out of orbit, reach the ground, and do great damage. This feeling would not be eased by the realization that orbited weapons would be designed to return to earth in fully operative "combat" condition. Persistent research on and testing of military space systems may generate an attitude of hostility toward all space activities, no matter how much their scientific nature was proclaimed. There has been speculation that some nations will encourage the development of observation satellites, since their existence could reduce the incentive for surprise attack and therefore for preemptive nuclear warfare. Nevertheless, the same nations might well resent careful surveying of their own sovereign activities,

Claims of the legitimacy and peaceful value of navigation, communication, and weather satellites may be questioned, since the value of these to military operations is also obvious; the claims may be especially jeopardized it civilian and military users share satellites and ground facilities. It would seem to be most Important to insure that activities undertaken in the process of developing precision. satellites of all sorts and in planning for the international cooperation that will be necessary to their maintenance and use are not construed by world publics and their leaders as threats-in-disguise against security and sovereignty.

On these various matters, research is appropriate to:

Although technological advances have injected many complexities into the wide range of foreign policy concerns of the United States, it is reasonable to assume that ad hoc solutions are not necessary (and might be harmful) and that optimum solutions can be arrived at. It seems certain, however, that the solutions will not be found without careful study directly concerned with international affairs and involving technical details of space programs.

International cooperation on organization and control

One pillar of United States foreign policy has been the support and encouragement of international cooperation and the control of aggression and armaments through the development of world-wide and regional international agreements and rule making, law enforcement, or operating organizations. An increasing number of expensive international scientific enterprises, including the IGY, the Antarctic and oceanic programs, and CERN, are being justified in part by their contributions to peaceful constructive cooperation. A space program might make unique contributions to this policy (1) because of the global nature of many of its activities, (2) because of world-wide interest in the exploration and exploitation of outer space even though only two nations now have major space programs, and (3) because of the most significant new role being played by private or quasiprivate international and transnational scientific organizations.

Realistic emphasis upon the uses of outer space to further peaceful ends necessitates the recognition that the potential military and other aggressive uses of space may have to be actively controlled, by peaceful space means. Radio frequency interference, for instance, and the development and use of anti-satellite missiles can be forms of aggression in space, although they have little to do with direct military threats. On the other hand, satellite systems may contribute to arms control by helping to survey nuclear explosions in outer space or even those near the earth's surface. @7/

Past experience with the development of international negotiations and organizations concerned with technical matters indicates that identification of the exact need and opportunity for control mechanisms of this sort requires considerable original study and accumulation of new knowledge. It has been suggested, for instance, that "long before any agreement becomes possible on regulating or eliminating the use of outer space for military purposes, a design for the management of this region, under the auspices of the United Nations, could be set before world opinion, with the psychological and ideological benefits inevitably redounding thereto. 48/ It has also been asserted that "lawyers can contribute significantly to the solution of legal problems arising from known and predictable contingencies; they cannot sensibly recommend in detail rules to deal with contingencies wholly or largely unknown and beyond human experience. A viable Law of Space must be based on the facts of space." 49/ On this matter there is much to be learned which would provide a needed background for interpreting more specific studies. Such a study would be concerned with:

Control over the undesirable uses of outer space would in any case have to be focused on known uses, likely kinds of uses, and effective use capability. There may be significant analogies for the space field in the arguments for and against international provisions for limiting or increasing membership in the "nuclear club.'' Of particular relevance would be studies of:

Control of non-space activities with the aid of space projects and the use of space programs for relieving world tensions and creating spheres of confidence may well require the kind of careful planning associated with control over undesirable uses of space. The difference between the two types of controls may be the greater need for inventiveness in the development of the latter, and advances in this area may depend on encouraging the study of:

Among areas of revolutionary technical achievement, interest in space activities probably rivaled in some parts of the world only by interest in atomic energy matters. Neither of these areas is now immune to disparagement, however, and other areas of scientific and technological development may come to rival them in capturing the attention of nations. Official national interest in them may well shift from time to time and may or may not parallel the interests of scientific communities.

In the context of human affairs, scientific activity is a means as much as an end in itself. It is not obvious that all nations are equally agreed on the importance of space science and it is not impossible that preoccupation with it by international science organizations or through other channels of foreign policy may alienate those who do not agree with this emphasis. 52/

To better understand the usefulness of a space program in this context it is appropriate to conduct research on:

Whether or not scientific activities attempt to divorce themselves entirely from international politics, economics, law, and public opinion, under present conditions they do have international implications beyond the nature I science disciplines. International science organizations provide one means for fostering scientific activity or for restricting the spread of space capabilities. The lack of distinctions between private and official activities of scientists and between peaceful and military science activities in the context of a space program have suggested in the minds of some science statesmen a net increase of opportunities for complementary activities by a variety of official and quasi-private international organizations and rule making institutions and hence a greater choice of instruments for implementing the policy of national cooperation Further understanding of any such unique contributions by a space program, or its planners and implementors, to the promotion of international cooperation could be aided by a study of:

• The distinctive, complementary, or competing space roles played by existing international groups including the United Nations,
UNESCO, COSPAR, and IAF, and others in existence or proposed.**

Relations with allies, adversaries, and neutral nations

A nonmilitary space program might contribute to the objectives of (1)strengthening bonds with our allies, (2) gaining the respect, Confidence, and friendship of the governments and lead in groups of selected neutral nations, and (3) achieving direct advantages against hostile powers by nonviolent means, The general foreign policy objective of helping certain nations to help themselves might also be furthered.

To developing nations, programs of aid may be more important than spectacular space events of no direct consequence for them. 55-/ Major space exercises conducted by a rich and powerful nation may be resented it is believed that the nation is at the same time skimping on the resources it allocates to the developing countries. on the other hand, participation in certain space activities of perceived value to such countries could enhance their self-images and/or their international prestige.

We must certainly ask whether or not those space activities which we believe offer many benefits and opportunities are perceived as doing so by persons in other countries. For example, the potential advantages of weather and communication satellites to the developing areas of the world appear to be substantial, yet there are many large problems and potential embarrassments also involved for the national leadership in these areas. As was suggested in the chapters on weather and communication satellites, programs of indoctrination and information will be needed well before the time of realization of a specific activity. These programs might assist materially in developing attitudes and institutions compatible with the benefits to be derived from the activity. 26/ It is recommended, then, that specific studies be
undertaken to:

It has been argued, pro and con, that American prestige in the eyes of the rest of the world depends on the success of our space program, and particularly on matching or exceeding the Russian program. 57/ An assessment of the data available from public opinion polls overseas does not provide the basis for deciding to what extent our present and future prestige is indeed a function of our space effort. 58/ Nor is what is meant by prestige at all clear. Do we want people to like us, to emulate us, to send their students to our schools, to buy their heavy equipment and instruments from us, to feel we would win a war if a showdown came, or to turn their back on offers and blandishments from the Communist bloc? "Prestige" means many things and on the specific interpretation rests part of the basis for assessing the possible implications of space activities for enhancing that desired characteristic. 59/

A foreigner's notions of how a country ought to behave vis-a-vis a country which has "prestige" may not coincide with our ideas of how it should behave, and the reasons why specific nationals regard us as a nation with or without prestige may not coincide with the reasons we think they should have for so regarding us. French reasons and responses may be quite different from British, Congolese, German, etc. Thus the role of space activities in forwarding our national image can only be clearly delineated after decisions are made about which aspects of prestige we wish to enhance, in what parts of the world, for what purposes. If the direction and effort of our space activities are to be partially a function of their prestige-generating consequences -- or at least are not supposed to adversely affect behavior and attitudes toward us -- it is necessary to conduct studies to learn:

Because a space program, unlike many other programs in science and technology, includes a great many rather dramatic planned events, an unusual opportunity exists for understanding the consequences of these events for intergovernmental relations by comparing international
conditions before and after the events. For this reason there is need for:

In addition to the matter of prestige, it would appear that there are qualitative as well as quantitative aspects to competition with Russia in the space area. Such factors as secrecy vs. publicity, feasible space programs, effective internal competitors for funds, relations with scientists in other nations, and access to other nations' territory may variously provide certain advantages or disadvantages to one side or the other. Without a serious research effort which considers the technical details of possible space projects, as well as their inherent merits, it is unlikely that the United States can understand, take full advantage of, or guard against the built-in imbalances or differences in U.S.- USSR postures. 61/

Specific studies contributing to this understanding and the development of
possible opportunities include: