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UNCLAS UNVIE VIENNA 000103 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: TSPA UNGA UNPUOS
SUBJECT: COPOUS: WRAP-UP OF THE 46TH SESSION OF THE SCIENTIFIC AND 
TECHNICAL SUBCOMMITTEE (STSC), FEBRUARY 9-20, 2009 
 
REF:  A. STATE 1917 
------- 
SUMMARY 
------- 
¶1.  (U) The U.S. accomplished its objectives for the 46th session of 
 
the STSC in Vienna February 9-20, 2009, including STSC approval of 
the voluntary safety framework for the use of nuclear power sources 
in outer space and adoption of a new agenda item on space weather 
research.  The U.S. delegation also had an opportunity to inform the 
STSC about the February 10 collision of the non-functioning Russian 
Cosmos satellite with the Iridium commercial satellite and the 
impact of that event on the space debris environment.  The U.S. 
provided statements on nine agenda items, five technical 
presentations for the Subcommittee plenary sessions, and 
participated in two formal working groups.  The chairman of the 
Subcommittee for the second and final year of his term was Mr. 
Aboubekr-Seddik Kedjar of Algeria.  End summary. 
--------------------- 
U.S. Statements and 
Special Presentations 
--------------------- 
¶2.  (U) Ref A contains a summary of this session's key agenda items 
 
and guidance for the U.S. delegation.  The U.S. delivered prepared 
statements on the following topics:  General Exchange of Views, UN 
Space Applications Program and Implementation of Unispace III 
Recommendations (combined), Remote Sensing, Space Debris, Use of 
Nuclear Power Sources (NPS) in Outer Space, Space-based Systems for 
 
Disaster Management, Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), 
Near Earth Objects (NEOs), and International Heliophysical Year 
(IHY) 2007. 
¶3.  (U) As a result of the February 10, 2009, collision in low Earth 
orbit between Iridium 33 and Cosmos 2251, the U.S. delegation gave a 
short statement on the event on February 12 based on guidance 
provided by Washington.  During the second week of the session, a 
U.S. technical representative from NASA provided some details on the 
space debris created by this event during his regular annual 
presentation on the state of the space debris environment (again 
using information cleared in Washington).  Citing the collision, the 
Director of the UN Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNCOPUOS 
Secretariat) released a statement to the press reiterating the call 
by UNCOPUOS and international organizations to voluntarily take 
measures to ensure that space debris mitigation guidelines are fully 
implemented.  During plenary discussions, France, Canada, and the 
Czech Republic cited the collision as a reminder of the need to 
examine means through which risks to current space activities can be 
reduced or minimized.  While a number of Member States commented on 
the collision, the only question came from Belgium, which asked 
about U.S. plans to share the results of any investigations of the 
incident with the broader international community.  The U.S. 
delegation made no commitments in this regard during the plenary. 
In side discussions with Belgium, the UK, Canada, France and 
Germany, members of the U.S. delegation did note that USSTRATCOM was 
planning to conduct a "lessons learned" assessment of the collision. 
 All expressed interest in hearing the results of the assessment. 
France, the Czech Republic (current President of the EU Council), 
and several NGOs attending the session cited the satellite collision 
as a reminder of the value of moving forward on the EU-proposed 
"Code of Conduct for Space Activities." 
¶4.  (U) This year, the United States provided five technical 
presentations during the STSC.  The Phoenix Program Manager from 
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) gave a presentation on the 
recent Phoenix mission to the polar region of Mars.  Other 
delegations were particularly impressed with this presentation, 
which was accompanied by exceptional still pictures and a short film 
taken in the mission's control center at JPL during the landing on 
Mars.  A NASA representative gave a presentation on current Near 
Earth Object research activities of the United States government. 
As noted above, a representative from NASA's Johnson Space Center 
gave a 
presentation on the space debris environment and a NASA 
 
 
 
 
 
 
representative from the Goddard Space Flight Center gave a 
presentation on the wrap-up of the International Heliophysical Year 
2007 research campaign.  The Federal Aviation Administration's 
Associate Administrator for Commercial Space Transportation briefed 
the STSC plenary on the FAA's efforts and activities related to 
regulating commercial human space flight activities in the U.S. 
------------- 
Member States 
------------- 
¶5.  (U) Fifty-four of the sixty-nine UNCOPUOS member states were 
represented at the 46th STSC session. 
--------- 
Observers 
--------- 
¶6.  (U) Nations requesting to attend this STSC session in an 
observer 
status included:  Angola, Azerbaijan, Croatia, the Dominican 
Republic, Israel, and Tunisia.  Other UN organizations present as 
observers included the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) 
and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).  Many other 
space-related organizations attended as observers, including the 
Association of Space Explorers (ASE), the European Space Agency 
(ESA), the European Southern Observatory, the European Space Policy 
Institute (ESPI), the 
International Astronautical Federation (IAF), the International 
Space University (ISU), the International Astronomical Union (IAU), 
the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA), the Space 
Generation Advisory Council (SGAC), and the Secure World Foundation 
(SWF). 
------------------------- 
General Exchange of Views 
------------------------- 
¶7.  (U) In addition to the U.S., the following member nations made 
statements under this agenda item:  Algeria, Austria, Argentina, 
Bolivia (on behalf of the Group of Latin American and Caribbean 
States), Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Cuba, Czech Republic (on 
behalf of the European Union), France, Germany, India, Indonesia, 
Iran, Italy, Japan, Libya, Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, 
Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Romania, the Russian 
Federation, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Syria, 
Thailand, Ukraine, and Venezuela. All of these nations highlighted 
their significant national space activities or developments in 2008. 
 A number of these statements addressed the importance of space 
debris mitigation and expressed satisfaction  with the UNGA 
endorsement of space debris mitigation guidelines at its 2007 
session.  Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Russian 
Federation, Spain, and the Ukraine commented favorably on space 
cooperation with the United States.  The Russian Federation focused 
almost exclusively on its efforts (with China) to promote a treaty 
on space weapons in the Conference on Disarmament.  China, however, 
did not mention this subject in its statement.  France focused its 
statement primarily on the EU Code of Conduct for Space Activities, 
but indicated that the EU did not intend to pursue agreement on the 
EU Code of Conduct in either UNCOPUOS or the Conference on 
Disarmament, but rather to do so via an ad hoc conference at some 
point in the future. India expressed its desire to develop a human 
spaceflight capability.  Iran cited the importance of the 1967 Outer 
Space Treaty, the need to use space applications for sustainable 
development, and highlighted the recent indigenous launch of its 
telecommunications satellite.  The U.S. statement highlighted 2008 
achievements including progress on the U.S. Space Exploration 
Policy; Space Shuttle missions to the International Space Station; 
space science missions including the Hubble Space Telescope, the 
Mars rovers, Phoenix, and the New Horizons mission to Pluto; NASA 
and NOAA remote sensing Earth observation satellites, and USGS 
management of Landsat missions and resultant worldwide data 
distribution. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
-------------------------------- 
UN Program on Space Applications 
-------------------------------- 
¶8.  (U) In addition to the U.S, Greece, India, Japan, and the 
Russian Federation made statements under this agenda item.  The U.S. 
commended the UN Space Applications Program and highlighted its role 
in establishing action teams to report on implementation of the 1999 
Unispace III recommendations.  U.S. noted its financial and in-kind 
support for workshops and other activities that led to the 
establishment of the International Committee on Global Navigation 
Satellite Systems (ICG).  The OOSA Secretariat reported on workshops 
and seminars held under the auspices of the UN Space Applications 
Program in 2008 and described plans for continuing such activities 
in 2009. 
-------------------------------- 
Remote Sensing and Applications 
for Developing Countries 
-------------------------------- 
¶9.  (U) In addition to the U.S., representatives of Brazil, Canada, 
China, India, Japan, Malaysia, Nigeria, and South Africa made 
statements on this agenda item.  The U.S. highlighted national 
accomplishments and advances in the field of remote sensing achieved 
by NASA, NOAA, and the USGS.  The U.S. and others highlighted the 
ongoing activities of the Group on Earth Observation (GEO) in its 
efforts to establish a Global Earth Observation System of Systems 
(GEOSS).  The GEO Secretariat provided a statement on the GEO 
10-year implementation plan to provide long-lasting benefits to the 
world through coordination of current and future investments for in 
situ, airborne, and space-based earth observations. 
------------------------ 
The Use of Nuclear Power 
Sources (NPS) in Space 
------------------------ 
¶10.  (U) In addition to the U.S., representatives of Nigeria, 
South Africa, and Venezuela made formal statements in the plenary 
regarding NPS.  The U.S. expressed support for the current work of 
the NPS Working Group and the STSC/IAEA Joint Expert Group, and 
stressed the value of the voluntary safety framework for the use of 
nuclear power sources in outer space that was being developed by 
these groups.  The Venezuelans expressed their concern that the 
draft safety framework does not go far enough, that it should 
absolutely ban the use of reactors in Earth orbit, and called for 
the establishment of a legal regime to control the use of nuclear 
power sources in space.  Working with other delegations, the U.S. 
crafted text for the NPS Working Group report that acknowledged 
Venezuela's concern about the use of nuclear power sources in Earth 
orbit, but kept any such prohibition out of the draft safety 
framework itself.  Accordingly, the STSC approved the draft safety 
framework with no significant changes from the draft previously 
cleared by U.S. agencies. In accordance with the established work 
plan, the safety framework will be provided to the IAEA for review 
in April 2009 by its Commission on Safety Standards, with the 
objective of having it cleared by the IAEA and ready for endorsement 
by UNCOPUOS at its plenary session in June 2009.  The STSC also 
agreed to have its NPS Working Group hold an intersessional meeting 
in June 2009 (on the margins of the UNCOPUOS session) to consider 
possible next steps for future work on this agenda item for 
potential STSC consideration in 2010. 
------------ 
Space Debris 
------------ 
¶11.  (U) In addition to the U.S., representatives of Brazil, Canada, 
 
China, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, India, 
Indonesia, Italy, Japan, the Russian Federation, and Venezuela made 
statements on 
space debris.  Many of these delegations expressed the importance of 
 
 
 
 
 
 
implementing the UNCOPUOS Space Debris Mitigation Guidelines through 
relevant national mechanisms, particularly citing the February 10 
satellite collision.  The U.S. expressed its satisfaction with the 
2007 
UNGA endorsement of COPUOS space debris mitigation guidelines and 
urged national reporting on the implementation of those guidelines 
by member states. The Czech Republic reiterated its view that the 
LSC should take up the subject of space debris mitigation, to 
include consideration of a legal regime to enforce space debris 
mitigation. 
--------------------------- 
Space-system-based Disaster 
Management Support 
--------------------------- 
¶12.  (U) In addition to the U.S., representatives of Austria, 
Burkina Faso, Canada, China, Germany, India, Iran, Italy, Japan, 
Nigeria, Romania, South Africa, Switzerland, Ukraine, and the United 
Kingdom made statements on this agenda item.  Most of these 
delegations expressed support for the recently created United 
Nations Platform for Space-based Information for Disaster Management 
and Emergency Response (UNSPIDER).  The U.S. delegation highlighted 
several of its programs which involved close cooperation with 
international partners to provide a wide array of space-based, 
airborne, and in-situ data and products to diverse communities 
worldwide.  It made clear that U.S. agencies would continue to 
support UNSPIDER through the provision of data products, but would 
also continue to look carefully at the UNSPIDER work plan to ensure 
that it was being implemented in an efficient and effective manner. 
 
 
------------------ 
Near Earth Objects 
------------------ 
¶13.  (U) In addition to the U.S., representatives of Austria, 
Canada, France, Japan, Mexico, Poland, Romania, and the Russian 
Federation made statements on this agenda item.  The STSC is 
considering Near Earth Objects (NEOs) under a three-year work plan 
-- initially proposed by the UK -- at the 45th session in 2008.  The 
work plan covers activities for the period 2009-2011.  The 
Subcommittee reconvened its Working Group on NEOs at this session to 
review intersessional work and reports 
submitted by member states in response to the Secretariat's annual 
call for information on NEOs.  The Working Group also considered 
presentations on national, regional, and international collaborative 
 
activities related to detection and characterization of NEOs; and it 
 
reviewed the interim report of the Action Team on Near-Earth Objects 
 
which has been working in this area since the Unispace III 
conference in 1999.  During discussions in the Working Group, the 
U.S. delegation pointed out the importance of broadening the 
international effort to detect and characterize NEOs.  The current 
work plan calls for consideration of international procedures for 
handling potential NEO threats to the Earth.  In this regard, the 
NEO Working Group heard a presentation from the Association of Space 
Explorers on its recent report titled "Asteroid Threats:  A Call for 
Global Response."  The Working Group will consider this report over 
the next year as it begins to draft international procedures to 
address NEO threats. 
¶14.  (U) Comment:  It does not appear that any member states have 
developed policies specifically addressing NEO threats, nor has any 
member state proposed the establishment of an international 
decision-making body to address such threats.  However, the ASE 
report cited in paragraph 13 above recommends the establishment of 
UN bodies to oversee NEO threat detection, warning, response 
planning, and decision-making with respect to NEO impact threat 
 
 
 
 
 
 
situations, and Member States will be called upon to address such 
proposals at the next session of the STSC in February 2010.  End 
comment. 
--------------------------- 
Global Navigation Satellite 
Systems (GNSS) 
--------------------------- 
¶15.  (U) This topic was begun at the February 2008 session as a new 
regular agenda item and addresses issues related to international 
collaboration among various national satellite navigation systems. 
In addition to the U.S., representatives of Canada, China, India, 
Italy, Japan, Mexico and the Russian Federation made statements 
under this agenda item.  A recurrent theme in these statements was 
support for the principles of compatibility and interoperability of 
GNSS.  Concurrently with this session, interested member states and 
observers met to coordinate activities in support of the 
International Committee on Global Navigation Satellite Systems 
(ICG).  The third meeting of the ICG, which is an outgrowth of a 
Unispace III recommendation, was held in Pasadena, California, in 
December 2008, and the fourth meeting is planned for St. Petersburg, 
Russia, in September 2009.  UNOOSA serves as the Executive 
Secretariat for the ICG and its smaller panel called 
the Providers Forum.  The chairman of the ICG has been invited to 
advise the Subcommittee each year on its current and future 
activities.  The U.S. has contributed approximately $1 million over 
 
the past several years to UNOOSA in support of GNSS-related 
activities, including regional workshops, the ICG, and the Providers 
 
Forum.  Our objective is to ensure that GPS continues to be the 
central pillar in the emerging international global navigation 
satellite system. 
--------------------------- 
International Heliophysical 
Year (IHY) 2007 
--------------------------- 
¶16.  (U) The U.S. statement and presentation highlighted IHY 
activities that had taken place during the 2007-2009 period, 
including the worldwide participation and distribution of instrument 
arrays. The U.S. played a leading role in IHY 2007 implementation, 
data collection and dissemination.  The role of the STSC with 
respect to IHY 2007 has 
been to serve as a major advocate for the campaign and to facilitate 
 
the addition of nations to the IHY effort.  This is the final year 
for the consideration of this agenda item as the IHY 2007 campaign 
was officially closed during this STSC session.  In view of the fact 
that heliophysical research can continue to provide valuable and 
useful information regarding the impact of space weather on our 
space infrastructure and on the Earth's climate, the U.S. delegation 
proposed a new agenda topic and multi-year work plan on an 
international space weather initiative.  The proposal was endorsed 
by a number of other countries which had been active in the IHY 2007 
campaign, and consensus was achieved to add this topic, with its 
accompanying work plan, to the STSC agenda commencing in 2010.  In 
addition to the U.S., representatives of Canada, China, Japan, and 
Nigeria made statements on this agenda item.  NASA's Goddard Space 
Flight Center, in coordination with OOSA, provided an exhibit on IHY 
2007 accomplishments which was on display in the Vienna 
International Centre during the second week of the STSC session. 
--------------------------- 
Long Term Sustainability of 
Space Activities 
--------------------------- 
¶17.  (U) This subject was one of the areas included in former COPUOS 
 
Chairman Gerard Brachet's recommendations for future work of the 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Committee and its Subcommittees, presented in a working paper at the 
 
50th session of the Committee in June 2007.  France, following up on 
 
Brachet's recommendation, has been hosting informal consultations 
involving interested UNCOPUOS Member States, nongovernmental 
organizations, relevant international organizations, and several 
commercial space operators, to develop a document on best practices 
for space operations that could serve as a basis for future work in 
the STSC. A drafting group supporting these informal consultations 
met on the margins of the STSC to continue its work to develop this 
document for consideration by the informal consultations.  While 
progress was made in the drafting group, the document is not yet 
complete, and has only recently incorporated some actual proposals 
for "best practices."  France, at this session, proposed that "The 
Long Term Sustainability of Space Activities" be adopted as a new 
agenda topic for the STSC at its 47th session in February 2010.  The 
proposal included a work plan for the period 2010-2012, which would 
culminate in the finalization of a document on "Best Practices for 
Space Operations."  As the informal consultations have not yet been 
completed, and are currently seeking to inform the full UNCOPUOS at 
its 52nd session in June 2009, the U.S. delegation, during informal 
discussions, strongly encouraged the French delegation to wait until 
June 2009 to make its proposal, pending the results of the informal 
consultations.  However, France persisted and ran into widespread 
opposition to its proposal from many countries that have not been 
involved directly in the informal consultations.  These Member 
States stated that, in the absence of any document from the informal 
consultations, they had nothing to work with their respective 
capitals and it was premature to push for adoption of the new agenda 
item.  Member States which took this position included Argentina, 
Austria, China, Colombia, Greece, Iran, Mexico, and South Africa. 
There also was strong sentiment not to pre-judge the outcome of 
consideration of this proposal by the full Committee in June 2009. 
In the end there was no consensus on the French proposal, and France 
plans to reintroduce the proposal at the full Committee session in 
June 2009. 
¶18.  (U) Comment:  The U.S. has been an active participant in the 
informal consultations since they commenced in February of 2008.  We 
have agreed in principle to UNCOPUOS work along these lines pending 
the outcome of the consultations.  France's attempt to push through 
an agenda item for the STSC prior to completion of the informal 
consultations, and prior to engagement of other UNCOPUOS Member 
States which have not been a part of the informal consultations, 
could serve to stiffen opposition to the new agenda item when it is 
considered again in June at the full Committee session.  Even though 
the February 10 collision of the Iridium and Cosmos satellites 
spurred several Member States to comment on the need to pursue 
common operational measures to reduce such risks in space, there now 
appears to be significant work to be achieved by France before June 
to accommodate a number of countries who have not been involved or 
engaged in the informal consultations.  End Comment. 
-------------------- 
Symposia at the STSC 
-------------------- 
¶19.  (U) This year, during the second day of the session, a 
symposium organized by the International Astronautical Federation 
was held on the theme "The role of Earth observation satellites in 
promoting understanding of and addressing climate change concerns." 
A representative from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center 
participated as a panelist in this symposium.  The symposium, 
moderated by Gerard Brachet of France, the former Chairman of 
UNCOPUOS, consisted of two round tables.  The first discussed space 
systems that monitored climate change, and the second addressed the 
contributions of these systems to understanding and forecasting 
climate behavior.  The Subcommittee agreed that the theme for the 
industry symposium for the 47th session in 2009, to be organized by 
 
 
 
 
 
 
OOSA, would be "Nurturing the Development of Space Technology." 
---------------------------- 
Provisional Agenda for the 
47th Session of STSC in 2010 
---------------------------- 
¶20.  (U) For its session in 2010, the STSC will consider the 
following as regular agenda items:  General Exchange of Views; 
Space Applications and Follow-up to Unispace III; Remote Sensing of 
the Earth; Space Debris; Space-system-based Disaster Management 
Support; and 
Recent Developments in Global Navigation Satellite Systems.  Items 
to be considered under multi-year work plans will include the Use of 
 
Nuclear Power Sources in Outer Space, Near Earth Objects, and Space 
Weather.  One single-issue topic will be considered as well in 2010: 
 Examination of the physical nature and technical attributes of the 
geostationary orbit and its utilization and applications, including 
in the field of space communications, taking particular account of 
the needs and interests of developing countries. 
 
SCHULTE