From: Larry Klaes (lklaes@bbn.com)
Date: Thu Nov 04 1999 - 14:26:38 MST
Date: Thu, 4 Nov 1999 16:19:00 -0500 (EST)
Reply-To: fpspace@SOLAR.RTD.UTK.EDU
Originator: fpspace@solar.cini.utk.edu
Sender: fpspace@SOLAR.RTD.UTK.EDU
From: Joanne Gabrynowicz <gabrynow@aero.und.edu>
To: Multiple recipients of list <fpspace@SOLAR.RTD.UTK.EDU>
Subject: Re: State dept to revise space law? (fwd)
X-Comment: Friends and Partners in Space
FYI
Joanne Irene Gabrynowicz
Professor, Space Law & Policy
Remote Sensing Law & Policy
Space Studies Department
University of North Dakota
gabrynow@aero.und.nodak.edu
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Thu, 04 Nov 1999 15:41:12 -0500
REMARKS TO THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE BUSINESS ASSEMBLY by
Kenneth C. Brill Acting Assistant Secretary
Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs
U.S.
Department of State, on behalf of the Secretary of State
<paraindent><param>left</param>REMARKS TO THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE
BUSINESS ASSEMBLY
by
Kenneth C. Brill
Acting Assistant Secretary
Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs
U.S. Department of State
Reagan International Trade Center
Washington, D.C.
November 2, 1999
Good evening. Secretary Albright had very much wanted to be with you, but
she is with the President in Oslo, where the long quest for peace in the
Middle East is being pursued with renewed hope and urgency. She has asked
me to represent the Department of State in her absence, and to extend to
you all a warm welcome to Washington for this important and exciting
conference. It is my great pleasure to do so.
- - - - -
<underline>
Introduction
</underline>
The well known writer Arthur Clarke once said that although it is true
that Earth is the cradle of humanity, we cannot remain in our cradle
forever. This first-ever global conference for the business of space
demonstrates that we have moved beyond exploratory steps outside the
cradle and are striding ahead with strength and confidence to exploit the
enormous economic and scientific potential of space.
Space activities touch the lives of ordinary citizens as never before,
not just in the United States, but around the world. Satellite dishes
pull down hundreds of channels of television programming in Central
America. GPS receivers guide millions of motorists in Japan. Programs
beamed by satellite to remote villages in India help farmers improve
their productivity. And ever more sophisticated satellite networks are
being developed to track weather patterns on a global basis.
<underline>
State Department's Role
</underline>
We at the State Department are not isolated from these exciting
developments. We are not a so-called "technical agency," and so far no
one has designed
pin-striped space suits. But we have an intense interest in the latest
developments in space exploration, space technology, and space
commerce.
-2-
Let me review briefly the role of the Department of State in the space
arena as a consumer, facilitator, and promoter.
The Department is a big consumer of space products and services. We use
satellites for instantaneous communication with our more than 200
embassies and consulates overseas. We use remote sensing imagery and the
Global Positioning System to mediate border disputes, monitor refugee
flows and human rights abuses, and respond to natural disasters.
Many of the global issues facing us today can only be dealt with if we
understand their scientific underpinnings. Indeed, the National Research
Council, in its recent report on "Science at State," concluded that
science and technology have moved to the forefront of the international
diplomatic agenda. As a result, good diplomacy is becoming more dependent
on good science.
Information from space-based instruments is central to the good science
we try to bring to bear on global issues. Ozone depletion, deforestation,
fish conservation, coral reef degradation, climate change and its
consequences--these are but a few of the areas where we rely heavily on
scientific analysis of data from space to inform our decision making and
build international consensus.
In addition to consuming space-based services and space-derived
information, the State Department has a significant role to play in
facilitating space cooperation. Space activities and issues are
inherently international, and the State Department has the statutory
responsibility of providing leadership within the US government on
foreign policy matters. Today, our role as facilitator is vastly more
complicated
than it was two decades ago. With the end of the Cold War, cooperative
ventures that would have been unthinkable twenty years ago have become
commonplace. From Sputnik to the International Space Station, competition
in space has become collaboration in space. Moreover, space activities
are no longer monopolized by a handful of governments. Commercial
spending on space
-3-
now exceeds government spending, and at least fifty countries have space
programs of some sort. In July, 100 countries sent delegates to the
United Nations' Third Conference on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space in
Vienna, a clear indication of the expanding interest in using space to
improve lives on Earth.
The State Department also works hard to promote the interests of the
American aerospace industry. Maintaining leadership in space has long
been a foreign policy objective of the United States. In today's arena,
"space leadership" and "aerospace industry leadership" are becoming
almost synonymous. We recognize and appreciate the major contribution
that the aerospace sector makes to US export earnings. We want to do what
we can to ensure that American companies remain at the cutting edge of
space technology and that they compete on a level playing field.
With that general overview of how and why the State Department is
interested in space, let me turn to some projects and issues that are of
particular interest to us.
<underline>
International Space Station
</underline>
The first project I would like to mention is the International Space
Station. We worked closely with NASA during the 1980s to create a
partnership with Japan, Canada, and nine members of the European Space
Agency to build an International Space Station. We were just as active in
the 1990s in expanding the program to include Russia and, more recently,
Brazil. Space cooperation is hard work; national space objectives have to
be melded with foreign policy objectives, and US programmatic
requirements have to be tailored to meet those of potential partners. But
the International Space Station illustrates that it is possible to carry
out even the largest, most complex space programs on a cooperative basis.
We are convinced that uniting the world's major space powers in this
monumental, peaceful use of outer space will pay long-term dividends.
-4-
<underline>
Global Positioning System
</underline>
Another area of special interest is satellite-based navigation. The
President's 1996 policy directive on the Global Positioning System gave
the State Department the task of consulting with other countries and
international organizations to promote GPS as a worldwide standard for
global navigation. We achieved a breakthrough last year with Japan, the
world's largest user of GPS consumer products, when President Clinton and
Prime Minister Obuchi issued a Joint Statement on GPS Cooperation. Our
attention currently is focused on Europe. The Europeans have announced
plans to build a global navigation satellite system of their own, known
as Galileo. We will begin later this month an important dialogue with the
European Union aimed at ensuring that Galileo, if built, will be fully
compatible and interoperable with GPS.
<underline>
Remote Sensing
</underline>
We also spend a lot of time thinking about and dealing with remote
sensing issues. International cooperation on earth observation satellites
is already remarkably extensive. Some of you may already be familiar with
CEOS, the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites. CEOS is an informal
but very active mechanism through which space agencies from around the
world coordinate separate missions to study and monitor global phenomena.
These missions provide crucial data for a myriad of purposes, including
monitoring international environmental agreements. We work very closely
with NASA and NOAA to facilitate earth observation projects involving
satellites or instruments from two or more countries.
In this field, as in others, we also try to stay alert for ways to
promote innovative approaches to solving problems that transcend national
boundaries. One exciting example is a project we are trying to get
started called Peace Wing. Many of you are aware that NASA has an
Environmental Research Aircraft and Sensor Technology program (ERAST). As
a part of this program,
-5-
NASA is testing a remarkable new kind of aircraft--remote-controlled,
solar-powered, high altitude platforms that can stay aloft for months at
a time.. These airborne platforms have unique potential for extending
telecommunications and remote sensing to the most isolated parts of the
world. Through Peace Wing, we hope to promote a variety of international
applications for the ERAST aircraft, such as natural disaster prediction,
monitoring, and relief.
It is clear that the technology available for earth observation continues
to advance at a rapid pace. Equally significant, it is no longer limited
to government agencies. We are very excited about the recent successful
launch of the IKONOS satellite, the first commercial system to acquire
and market imagery down to one-meter resolution. At the same time, we are
mindful that the emergence of a high-resolution commercial remote sensing
industry raises serious questions regarding national security and
privacy.
For remote sensing activities, as for most space activities, our policies
must carefully balance foreign policy and national security concerns with
commercial
interests. We need to continue to ensure that space cooperation does not
inadvertently result in missile proliferation or unwarranted technology
transfer. The fact remains that the same technologies used for commercial
space launches can also be used to develop ballistic missiles. We have a
common interest in ensuring that such technologies do not fall into the
wrong hands.
<underline>
<bold>International Legal Regime for Space
</bold></underline><bold>
The last issue I would like to mention concerns the international legal
regime for space activities. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the UN
Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space developed the Outer Space
Treaty and three related United Nations conventions, which serve as the
bedrock of international space law. This was an example of multilateral
diplomacy at its best; the international rules that were created afford a
measure of transparency and accountability for space
-6-
activities, without constraining national programs. But this body of law
was developed during an era when nearly all space activities were carried
out by governments. We need to begin thinking about whether it is
adequate for the coming era of space commercialization--an era in which
entrepreneurs may seek to earn a profit from activities such as space
tourism, mining of asteroids, or waste disposal in space. It is not too
early for government and industry to begin a dialogue on whether some
modest additions to the current body of international space law would be
appropriate.
</bold><underline>
Leadership Requires Resources
</underline>
The challenging space agenda of the new millenium demands effective
leadership. In the international arena, the Department of State stands
ready to provide that leadership. It is painfully clear, however, that we
lack the resources we need to address the wide array of global,
science-related issues that face us today. We are well aware, for
example, that the average time it takes to process licenses for space
technology exports has increased, and that this sometimes hurts US
businesses. This stems not from any lack of will or
motivation on the State Department's part, but very simply from a lack of
resources.
The plain fact of the matter is that the resources for most of the State
Department's day-to-day activities have been cut to the bone in recent
years.. If America is to retain its leadership in new areas like space,
as well as in traditional areas like brokering peace agreements between
age-old antagonists in the Middle East or Ireland, we need resources to
do the job. Talk is cheap; results take resources.
In closing, let me say that the State Department applauds and
congratulates the organizers of this first global conference for the
business of space. We join you in being proud of America's past
accomplishments in space and excited about the unlimited possibilities
of
-7-
the future. I know I speak for Secretary Albright when I say the
Department of State stands ready to work closely with America's space
community to maintain America's leading position in space.
Thank you.
</paraindent>
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