Outer space sub-committee considers satellite and spacecraft issues.

Outer Space Sub-committee considers satellite and spacecraft issues

The need to assist developing countries in obtaining data on remote sensing of the earth from outer space and continuing concern about use of the geostationary orbit were among the main issues raised by the Scientific and Technical Sub-Committee of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space at its 1986 session (10-21 February, New York).

The implications of space transportation systems and the importance of enhancing the safety of space objects with nuclear power sources aboard were among other matters considered by the 53-member body. Also reviewed were developments in the United Nations Programme on Space Applications and implementation of recommendations of the Second United Nations Conference on the Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNISPACE 82).

The Sub-Committee agreed to a proposal by 11 nations, mostly from the West, to place two new items-- planetary exploration and astronomy --on the agenda of its 1987 session, to be held from 17 to 27 February, with the theme "Space communications for development'.

Action was postponed on a proposal by some socialist countries to create machinery to promote exploration and use of outer space for peaceful purposes, and to draw up international agreements on non-deployment of weapons of any kind in outer space and the non-use of force in outer space and from outer space against the earth.

During debate, several of these nations expressed concern over what they saw as efforts to militarize space, especially through the United States Strategic Defense Initiative, which many countries refer to as "Star Wars'. They urged support for what the Soviet Union calls its "Star Peace' programme as a way to promote peaceful international co-operation in outer space.

Other speakers took the view that arms control issues were, as the United Kingdom put it, "well outside' the mandate of the Outer Space Committee and its Sub-Committee. The work of the Sub-Committee could not succeed, the United States said, if countries insisted on raising disarmament matters and disarmament proposals.

Remote sensing: Receiving special attention at the 1986 session was the topic, "Remote sensing for developing countries'. "Remote sensing' refers to the detection and analysis of the earth and its resources by sensors, usually satellites, in outer space. In conjunction with the Sub-Committee's consideration of the subject, a symposium on scientific reasons for developing new remote sensing technology and new developments in remote sensing use, sponsored by the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) and the International Astronautical Federation (IAF), was held on 10 and 11 February.

The Sub-Committee reiterated its view that remote sensing of the earth by satellites should be carried out, taking into account the "fundamental urgent need to provide appropriate and non-discriminatory assistance' to developing countries. It emphasized the importance of making remote sensing data available at reasonable cost.

Observing that useful studies of natural resources and the environment could be made using data from meteorological satellites, the Sub-Committee stated that continued free access to such information should be guaranteed and the service further developed. The Sub-Committee also hoped that the Legal Sub-Committee of the Outer Space Committee would soon reach agreement on legal principles to govern remote sensing by satellite.

Nuclear power sources: The Sub-Committee agreed that as new space systems were developed and implemented, the safety margin of space objects with nuclear power sources on board must be enhanced. If such objects malfunctioned, so that radioactive materials might be released when they re-entered the Earth's atmosphere, information should be disseminated as soon as the malfunctioning became known--and updated and increased as re-entry approached--to give the international community time to make an appropriate response. The need to provide guidance in preplanning such countermeasures was also recognized.

Geostationary orbit: The Sub-Committee noted a decision of the World Administrative Radio Conference declaring itself not competent to deal with specific principles concerning demands made by equatorial countries to have sovereignty/jurisdiction over segments of the geostationary orbit superadjacent to their territories, and to preserve those segments for the "opportune and appropriate utilization of the orbit by all States, particularly the developing countries'.

The geostationary orbit--22,300 miles above the equator--is the only orbit capable of providing continuous contact with ground stations via a single satellite. Satellites in that orbit appear to be stationary in the sky because they circle the earth at the same speed the earth rotates. There has been concern over the number of satellites that could occupy the orbit at any given time.

Some Sub-Committee members reiterated the view that to ensure equitable access to the orbit, legal regulations for its use should be worked out in the Legal Sub-Committee. Equatorial countries argued that the International Telecommunications Union Nairobi Convention, in stating that equitable access to radio frequencies and geostationary orbit must take into account "the geographical position of particular countries', gave preferential rights to the equatorial countries.

Other nations, however, felt the orbit was an effect not of the equator but of the gravitational pull of the Earth as a whole, and that equatorial countries did not, therefore, have preferential rights. They said the orbit and radio frequency spectrum were reusable natural resources that would be wasted if not used to the maximum extent possible. They also opposed creating rules for using the orbit apart from existing rules of the Broadcasting Satellite Service.

The Sub-Committee reiterated its request that the 1985 study on the geostationary orbit (A/AC.105/203 and Add.104) be updated as required.

Space systems: The Sub-Committee noted recent developments in space transportation systems, in particular those of China (its CZ launch vehicle system recently put a communications satellite into orbit); India (its ASLV is scheduled for first launch in 1986); Japan (working on the H-I and H-II to launch communications satellites); the USSR (launched 118 space objects in 1985, including manned Soyuz spaceships, the cargo ship Progress-24, the scientific space vehicle Prognoz-10-Intercosmos and various satellites); the United Kingdom (conducted studies on a single-stage, reusable space vehicle); and the United States (continued its space shuttle programme, including the first in-flight retrieval and repair of a communications satellite).

The Sub-Committee reported that the United Nations space applications programme for 1985 had been carried out satisfactorily and recommended approval of activities for 1987, including training of space technologists and application specialists; workshops on communications technology; expert meetings on the future of remote sensing and on space science and technology; and training courses on the application of remote sensing to agro-meteorology, ocean fisheries, and geological sciences and mineral exploration.

The Sub-Committee reiterated its concern, however, at the gap between existing resources and those needed to implement new or expanded programmes recommended by UNISPACE 82.

Life sciences: As part of its continued consideration of life sciences, including space medicine, the Sub-Committee heard presentations by the Soviet Union and United States. According to the USSR, study of the human body in space flight had provided data on the responses of healthy persons to various environmental effects. The plasticity with which space travellers adapted to microgravity and then to normal gravity upon return to earth gave evidence that physiologically, man's adaptive abilities were greater than previously assumed.

Data accumulated by space medicine could be used to improve diagnosis and prevention of cardiovascular disease, for example. Studies of cosmonauts provided evidence of the harmful effects on cardiovascular functioning of inactivity and emotional stress--two characteristics of manned space flight--and indicated the importance of exercise and diet for minimizing the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Soviet manned space activities had given rise to new medical instruments for monitoring cardiovascular function, new methods for diagnosing cardiovascular disease and new attitudes about health maintenance and disease prevention.

The United States said that studies of cardiovascular function during manned space flight had led to development of such devices as programmable pacemakers and portable, implantable defibrillators--small, lightweight, highly sensitive devices that monitor heart function, detect irregularities and apply electrical stimuli to correct heart arrhythmia.

Studies of bone loss during manned space flight had given rise to a simple, non-invasive instrument for measuring bone stiffness and mass, thus permitting diagnosis of osteoporosis (bone loss) in the elderly. Studies of microbial contamination of spacecraft and attempts to identify life on Mars had resulted in new hospital laboratory instruments to rapidly detect and identify micro-organisms that cause infection.

Technology used on astronomical and other unmanned satellites had also given rise to new medical instruments, including a portable low intensity X-ray imaging device called a LIXISCOPE and small portable or implantable computer-controlled devices for neuromuscular stimulation, the United States said.