Astronauts… the lure of becoming an astronaut has long been the dream of many a child, boy and girl, with visions of space dancing in their heads. For the few who do follow that path, only 339 have been chosen for the intensive training program through the years, and achieve the dream of becoming an astronaut, the reality of a trip to space must be absolutely amazing! But what happens if an astronaut in space becomes in need of rescue? We have a treaty for that! And it covers more than just the rescue of our astronauts, although we think that’s a pretty important part.
The Agreement on the Rescue of Astronauts, the Return of Astronauts and the Return of Objects Launched into Outer Space, or the Rescue Agreement for short, was created in 1967 and became official in December of 1968 to elaborate on rescue provisions that were set forth in the 1967 Outer Space Treaty. The Rescue Agreement basically states that any state that becomes aware that the personnel of a spacecraft is in distress must notify the launching authority and the Secretary General of the United Nations. In addition, any state that is party to the agreement must provide assistance or rescue to spacecraft personnel that has landed in their territory regardless of whether it is because of accident, distress, emergency or unintended landing. If the distress occurs in areas beyond the territory of a nation, then any state party that can, is required to extend assistance and the search and rescue mission. (1)
An interesting caveat to the Rescue Agreement is that is does not define the term “astronaut”, leaving some question as to who is actually covered. With the proposition of space travel and tourism being talked about more and more, for example, would someone on board a Virgin Galactic (a spaceflight company developing commercial spacecrafts) flight be included in the agreement? We sure hope so!
Although when the treaty came into existence, the prospect of rescuing space travelers was unlikely, that too has become more realistic. For example, both the Russian Space Station Mir and the International Space Station have maintained docked spacecraft to be used in an in-orbit emergency or to assist in a rescue. (2)
The final part of the Rescue Agreement tackles the issue of found space objects and their return. Should any space objects land, either in whole or in part, somewhere on earth, the obligation to notify the launching authority (the state who sent the object into outer space) and the Secretary General of the United Nations applies. While the goal is to return the item to the original launching authority, provisions can be made for anything that might present danger or if the object is hazardous. The Agreement goes on to mandate that the original launching authority is responsible for the cost associated with the recovery and return of the item, a detail that is conspicuously missing from the articles regarding rescue and return of our astronauts.
With new tests and exploration efforts continuing around the globe, keeping track of these space objects is imperative. In an effort to identify and maintain which States bear responsibility and liability for space objects, the United Nations has maintained a Register of Objects Launched into Outer Space since 1962. The information, which is also maintained by the UN Secretary General, is available to the public through United Nation documentation that can be found on the United Nations website (3). And the States do a great job of tracking this information. To date, more than 92% of objects launched into Earth’s orbit or beyond have been registered!
Sources
(1) http://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/spacelaw/treaties/introrescueagreement.html
(2) https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4225/mir/mir.htm
(3) https://documents.un.org/prod/ods.nsf/home.xsp
(4) Virgin Galactic link: http://www.virgingalactic.com/
Social Media Posts
- What happens if an astronaut in space becomes in need of rescue? We have a treaty for that! And it covers more than just the rescue of our astronauts!
- The Agreement on the Rescue of Astronauts, the Return of Astronauts and the Return of Objects Launched into Outer Space, or the Rescue Agreement for short, was created in 1967and became official in December of 1968 to elaborate on rescue provisions that were set forth in the 1967 Outer Space Treaty.
- The Rescue Agreement basically states that any state that becomes aware that the personnel of a spacecraft is in distress must notify the launching authority and the Secretary General of the United Nations.
- Any state that is party to the Rescue Agreement must provide assistance or rescue to spacecraft personnel that has landed in their territory regardless of whether it is because of accident, distress, emergency or unintended landing.
- An interesting caveat to the Rescue Agreement is that is does not define the term “astronaut”, leaving some question as to who is actually covered. With the proposition of space travel and tourism being talked about more and more, for example, would someone on board a Virgin Galactic (a spaceflight company developing commercial spacecrafts) flight be included in the agreement?
- Although when the Rescue Agreement treaty came into existence, the prospect of rescuing space travelers was unlikely, that too has become more realistic. For example, both the Russian Space Station Mir and the International Space Station have maintained docked spacecraft to be used in an in-orbit emergency or to assist in a rescue.
- The final part of the Rescue Agreement tackles the issue of found space objects and their return. Should any space objects land, either in whole or in part, somewhere on earth, the obligation to notify the launching authority (the state who sent the object into outer space) and the Secretary General of the United Nations applies.
- Agreement goes on to mandate that the original launching authority is responsible for the cost associated with the recovery and return of the item, a detail that is conspicuously missing from the articles regarding rescue and return of our astronauts.
- With new tests and exploration efforts continuing around the globe, keeping track of these space objects is imperative. In an effort to identify and maintain which States bear responsibility and liability for space objects, the United Nations has maintained a Register of Objects Launched into Outer Space since 1962.
- The information in the Register of Oblects, which is also maintained by the UN Secretary General, is available to the public through United Nation documentation that can be found on the United Nations website. To date, more than 92% of objects launched into Earth’s orbit or beyond have been registered!