OUTER SPACE SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL SUBCOMMITTEE

CONCLUDES THIRTY-EIGHTH SESSION IN VIENNA

Discusses Implementation of UNISPACE III Recommendations,

Applications of Satellite Remote Sensing of Earth and Space Debris

VIENNA, 23 February (UN Information Service) -- The implementation of the Third United Nations Conference on the Explorations and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNISPACE III) recommendations, a space-based global natural disaster management system, and space debris were among the topics discussed at the thirty-eighth session of the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) which finished its work here today.

Other topics of discussion included: use of nuclear power sources in outer space, matters related to remote sensing of the Earth by satellite, including applications for developing countries and monitoring of the Earth's environment, means and mechanisms for strengthening inter-agency cooperation and increasing the use of space applications and services within and among entities of the United Nations system, examination of the physical nature and technical attributes of the geostationary orbit and of its utilization and applications, including developments in space communications, as well as government and private activities to promote education in space science and engineering.

UNISPACE III Recommendations

UNISPACE III, held in Vienna in 1999, made recommendations on remote sensing in protecting the environment, facilitating and utilizing communications, improving and using positioning and location capabilities, furthering knowledge and building capacity, enhancing education and training opportunities for youth, information technology needs and the global approach, spin-offs and commercial benefits from space activities, promoting technology development and exchange, and promoting international cooperation.

The Subcommittee at its current session agreed that recommendations of UNISPACE III could be assessed and implemented through the voluntary leadership of individual member States and their appropriate governmental institutions on particular actions.  Such a mechanism would be open to all interested Member States and should be agreed upon by the Committee by consensus.  The Subcommittee also agreed that the leaders would make considerations within their own teams, would seek the broadest possible participation of non-governmental entities and would report to the Subcommittee.  Furthermore, the work to be conducted through that mechanism should be result-oriented, pragmatic, transparent and coordinated by the Committee and should be based on consensus agreement.

Natural Disaster Management

In accordance with recommendations made by UNISPACE III, the delegates at the current session noted that many disaster management efforts around the world were using space technologies such as satellite remote sensing, global navigation satellite systems and satellite telecommunications, often together with other advanced technologies such as airborne remote sensing, as well as activities on the ground.  The synoptic perspective of Earth observation satellites and the high quality and reliability offered by communications satellites and the fact that they did not rely largely on ground infrastructure that could be damaged by a disaster were recognized by the Subcommittee as an important part of effective disaster management efforts.

Another conclusion of the session was that space-based technologies were being used to support disaster management activities related to weather forecasting, including forecasting of intensive weather such as tropical cyclones, tornadoes and severe storms, heavy precipitation and extreme temperatures, as well as seasonal to inter-annual predictions of phenomena such as El Nino; flooding; landslides; coastal hazards; wildfires; drought and vegetation stress; snow and ice cover; volcanic ash clouds; seismic hazards; harmful algal blooms; disease outbreaks and pest invasions; technological disasters, such as oil spills and air pollution events.

The Subcommittee, however, recognized certain obstacles to the use of space technology for disaster management, such as poor resolution capabilities and/or revisiting time of many existing Earth observation satellites for certain types of disasters, a gap between present possibilities for extracting information from satellite data and what was actually needed in operational context, and difficulty experienced by some end-users in obtaining sufficient technical equipment to use products from remote sensing.  Therefore, more reliable and timely data and information as well as better expertise to use the technology and the information available were needed.  Delegates also noted that earthquakes were still beyond prediction.

Concerning the implementation of an integrated, space-based global natural disaster management system, the Subcommittee agreed to establish an expert group, with core members from countries with advanced science and technical capability or high vulnerability to disasters, taking into account the principle of equitable geographical distribution. The expert group would conduct related studies and propose a practical plan for a global disaster mitigation management system or systems, presenting the first report to the Subcommittee for general discussion at its thirty-ninth session.

Space Debris

Space debris, retired or defunct satellites and fragments and small particles of various origin were considered as a single issue and item for discussion on a priority basis, with attention given to various aspects of space debris.

The Subcommittee agreed on a five-year work plan for space debris, with the goal of expediting international adoption of voluntary debris mitigation measures.  The proposed activities would include a review of the draft work plan and encouragement of the Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee (IADC) to place due priority on its action to harmonize debris mitigation practices in order

to increase prospects for completing the task.  IACD would present its results annually until 2005, when member States begin annual reporting on a voluntary basis of national activities to implement the guidelines.

Nuclear Power Sources

The Subcommittee considered a four-year work plan, aiming to study the current international technical standards pertinent to the use of nuclear power sources in outer space.  According to the work plan, the Subcommittee at its thirty-eighth session reviewed national and international processes, proposals and standards and national working papers relevant to the launch and peaceful use of nuclear power sources in outer space.

The Subcommittee discussed and reached preliminary agreement upon a draft outline of the report called for in the work plan.  The draft outline would, however, remain subject to further consideration and informal, inter-sessional consultations by delegations and would only be finalized at the commencement of discussions during delegations and would only be finalized at the commencement of discussions during the thirty-ninth session of the Subcommittee.

The Subcommittee engaged in a more detailed consideration of the differences between the use of nuclear power sources in outer space and terrestrial nuclear applications, focusing particularly on the following aspects: nature of the application, operating environment, nature and autonomy of operation of systems, quantity of the radioactive material, frequency and duration of use, distance to, and the effects of normal operation and potential accidents on populated areas, complexity and designed reliability of systems, use of passive and/or active systems, end of service.

Membership

Membership on the Subcommittee, the same as COPOUS, its parent Committee consists of the following 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, Syria, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela, Viet Nam.

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

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