About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

63 Am. J. Int'l L. 197 (1969)
Issue 2

handle is hein.journals/ajil63 and id is 207 raw text is: RESCUE AND RETURN OF ASTRONAUTS ON EARTH AND IN OUTER SPACE * By R. Cargill Hall** INTRODUCTION The requirement for international standards for rescue and return of distressed astronauts rapidly assumed importance in the first years of the space age, paralleling development of the technology necessary to sustain man in outer space and to permit re-entry of spacecraft through the earth's atmosphere. The need increased in the early 1960's when both the United States and the Soviet Union announced inauguration of space flight pro- grams to send men to the moon and return them to earth. It was recog- nized that, in the continued absence of any firm international consensus on this subject, international friction could be caused by disagreement over procedure to be followed, the nature and extent of states' obligations, or by differences in interpreting or applying legal principles in the event earth or space rescue and return operations became necessary. These con- ditions (possible unintentional misunderstanding during manned flight emergencies, swift developments in astronautical science and technology that made manned space flight a reality, and the importance of astronauts in terms of national prestige and subsequent status as envoys of man- kind) combined to encourage international agreement upon standards for rescue and return by way of direct discussion among states, informal agreement, and, ultimately, conclusion of formal conventions governing this activity; and they discouraged reliance by nations upon principles or practices derived from custom and precedent. In the conduct of national manned space flight programs, however, there are two primary situations for which recognized standards for rescue and return of astronauts are necessary: (1) crash-landing of space vehicles and their crews on land or sea after re-entry from outer space; and (2) astronauts in distress in orbit, on celestial bodies, or traversing space be- tween celestial bodies. Because technical developments permitting space vehicle re-entry through the atmosphere from near-earth orbits necessarily preceded attempts at manned flight to neighboring celestial bodies, inter- national interest first centered upon securing agreement on provisions for recovery and return of astronauts and spacecraft which had crash-landed on earth. This particular emphasis continued to be reflected in the inter- national deliberations on rescue and return throughout the 1960's, and * Presented orally at the 11th Colloquium on the Law of Outer Space, International Institute of Space Law, New York City, Oct. 17, 1968. •* Historian, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology. Any views expressed in this paper are those of the author. They should not be interpreted as reflecting the views of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory or the official opinion or policy of any of its governmental or private sponsors.

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most