OUTER SPACE SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL SUBCOMMITTEE CONCLUDES THIRTY-SEVENTH SESSION IN VIENNA

Press Release
OS/1763

OUTER SPACE SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL SUBCOMMITTEE CONCLUDES THIRTY-SEVENTH SESSION IN VIENNA

(Reissued as received.)

VIENNA, 18 February (UN Information Service) -- Discussing the implementation of a space-based global natural disaster management system, strengthening cooperation among the various United Nations specialized agencies in space-related activities and the use of nuclear power sources in outer space were the main focus of attention for the thirty-seventh session of the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee which concluded its session here this afternoon.

The Subcommittee serves as the focal point of multilateral cooperation in space technology and research and, with the Legal Subcommittee, is one of the two subsidiary bodies of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS). The Committee has developed five treaties and five sets of principles governing the activities in outer space.

UNISPACE III Recommendations

In accordance with recommendations made by the Third United Nations Conference on the Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNISPACE III), which was held in Vienna from 19 to 30 July 1999, the delegates at the current session agreed to request the Subcommittee to discuss the possibility of implementing an integrated, space-based natural disaster management system in the framework of a three-year work programme.

As is stated in the resolution of the Vienna Declaration, adopted at UNISPACE III, the implementation of an integrated, global system, especially through international cooperation, would help to manage natural disaster mitigation, relief and prevention effort, through Earth observation.

The components of the multi-year work plan include the reviewing of types of natural disasters being faced and the extent of application of space-based global services used for their mitigation. Existing and proposed satellite systems which can be used for disaster management would also be a focus of attention.

Also following a recommendation of UNISPACE III, member States agreed to have the Subcommittee undertake a multi-year work plan to examine mechanisms, including financial ones, for strengthening inter-agency cooperation and

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increasing the use of space applications and services within the United Nations system and among United Nations specialized agencies and bodies.

The objective underlying this proposal is to promote effective use of technology to assist in the solution of problems of regional or global significance, and to help the United Nations in that effort by examining the utility of space applications and services for increasing the effectiveness, efficiency and coordination of the operations of the United Nations agencies and bodies and identifying the barriers to greater use of space applications.

The Subcommittee also discussed issues related to funding various international space programmes and the celebration of World Space Week (4-10 October 2000). Delegates also considered the strengthening of the activities of the United Nations Programme on Space Applications which was established by the General Assembly in 1971 to assist nations in using space technology for economic, social and cultural development.

Encouraging the continued participation of young people in space activities was also discussed. The working group of the Subcommittee dealing with the recommendations of UNISPACE III agreed that the Youth Advisory Council -- established as a private organization soon after UNIPACE III, and modelled on a similar council established within the framework of the United Nations Environment Programme -- could be granted observer status with COPUOS, to facilitate the participation of young people in cooperative space-related activities.

Nuclear Power Sources

The General Assembly adopted the Principles Relevant to the Use of Nuclear Power Sources in Outer Space in 1992. While it has been agreed that these principles should not be amended at the present time, the Subcommittee continues to examine the topic in the light of new and ongoing developments.

At this session, the Subcommittee began a four-year plan for developing a framework for safety assurance and standards for nuclear power sources in outer space adopted at its thirty-fifth session in 1998. The Subcommittee invited member States and international organizations to submit information on the identification of terrestrial processes and technical standards that may be relevant to nuclear power sources, including factors that distinguish nuclear power sources in outer space from terrestrial nuclear applications.

The Subcommittee re-established its Working Group on the Use of Nuclear Power Sources in Outer Space which identified nuclear reactors, packaging and transport of radioactive materials, and use of radioactive sources in terrestrial applications as having relevance to nuclear power sources in outer space. The Working Group also noted the existing terrestrial nuclear safety regime and identified the following international documents which might have relevance to the use of nuclear power sources in outer space: the Convention on Nuclear Safety; the Convention on Earth Notification of a Nuclear Accident, and the Convention on Assistance in the Case of a Nuclear Accident or Radiological

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Emergency; Recommendations of the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP); Safety Service Publications of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); Reports of the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation.

The Working Group agreed to review these documents in more detail in the second year of the work plan.

Space Debris

In 1998, the General Assembly considered it essential that Member States pay more attention to the problem of collisions of space objects, including those with nuclear power sources, with space debris, and called for the continuation of national research on that question. The main concern at the current session was to prevent the creation of new space debris.

Participants reviewed international application of the standards of the International Telecommunication Union and recommendations of the Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee (IADC) concerning the disposal of satellites in geostationary orbit full life. The Subcommittee agreed that international cooperation was needed to expand appropriate and affordable strategies to minimize the potential impact of space debris on future space missions.

Delegates agreed to continue the work on the topic of space debris, in 2001, focusing on the question of economic cost-benefit of debris mitigation measures, including the costs of various mitigation measures, cost of not taking actions in the field, that is not taking mitigation measures, and analysis of cost benefit ration in various scenarios, also taking into account the effect of possible universally accepted mitigation measures.

Participation of Private Industry

Following UNISPACE III, the United Nations is looking for establishing partnerships with private industry, to implement some of the recommendations contained in its Plan of Action. This intention is reflected in the participation of private industry at the current session of the Subcommittee.

Member States heard presentations, some, from representatives of private industry, in the symposiums organized in connection with the session of the Subcommittee. The theme of "Space commercialization: an area of new opportunities and challenges" was addressed in a special symposium, organized by the International Astronautical Federation (IAF) and the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR).

A symposium entitled "Interactive multimedia satellite services: implications for the twenty-first century", addressing the promising and exciting area of satellite technology, was held on 9 February. The symposium has provided member States with updated information on commercially available products and services as well as on ongoing activities of space-related industry, and identified ways and means to expand multimedia satellite services to developing countries at affordable cost.

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During the Subcommittee's meeting, member States also discussed mechanisms for further increasing the participation of private industry in the United Nations' work related to outer space.

Other Topics

Other topics of the agenda included international cooperation in human spaceflight, as part of which the Subcommittee heard a technical presentation on the International Space Station, and presentations on new launch systems and ventures. The Subcommittee also considered matters relating to remote sensing of the Earth by satellites, including applications for developing countries and monitoring of the Earth's environment.

The Subcommittee took into consideration the examination of the physical nature and technical attributes of the geostationary orbit and of its utilization and applications, including in the field of space communications, taking particular account of the needs and interests of developing countries.

Membership

Membership in the Subcommittee, the same as in COPUOS, its parent Committee, consists of 61 countries each year. The following are members:

Albania, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Benin, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Canada, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Cuba*, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Lebanon, Malaysia*, Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru*, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea*, Romania, Russian Federation, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Spain, Sudan, Sweden, Syrian Arab Republic, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela, Viet Nam and Yugoslavia.

(*Peru and Malaysia rotate their memberships every two years with Cuba and the Republic of Korea).

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