NRO APPROVED FOR RELEASE 

22 June 2015 

DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE 

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY 

MEMORANDUM 
NRO APPROVED FOR RELEASE 

22 June 2015 
INTERNATIONAL,ASPECTS.OF SPACE APPLICATIONS 

ABSTRACT 

Space applications are already proving their, early promise 

in communications, meteorology and navigation. The 

prospect of using satellite photography,' radar and radiation 

sensing for surveys of natural resources appears equally 

exciting. All of these applications involve interactions with 

other nations, since they operate on a global basis. Neither, 

purely selfish national use nor unrealistic internationalism 

seems to provide practical solutions to the employment of 

applications satellites in the years to come. Consequently, 

there is a demand for research and sober study to find 

ways to adapt this new technology to the betterment of.. 

mankind. From this AAS session may come a recognition 

of the need for further research, for further discussion, 

and for development of practical policies to deal with the 

political, legal, and economic problems we have yet to face. 

NRO APPROVED FOR RELEASE 

22 June 2015 licy: 18 Points 

Policy: Peaceful Uses 

Policy: Space Law 

Functions: NASA 
• NRO APPROVED FOR RELEASE 

• , 22 June 2015. ' 

F

c 

•./ 

' INTERNATIONAL ASPECTS OF SPACE APPLICATIONS 

John D. lams* 

In the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958, Congress aulcL4 that apace 

activities be devoted to peaceful purposes for the benefit of all mankind. 

The United States has pursued this objective with dedication and imagination. 

It has joined together with 47 other nations to bring communications to the 

world on a non-discriminatory basis, bridging 'oceans and continents with 

the Early Bird satellite. It has made meteorological data from TIROS 

cloud pictures directly available to any country willing to make a small 

investment in ground read-out equipment. Potential users are now discussing a common satellite navigation system. This, too, may become 

an everyday reality once general agreement can be reached. 

These are but small steps, however, toward the wider horizons of space 

applications. Technology now promises help inttackling an even vaster 

problem: the gathering of information about the resources of the earth--

resources that man must he able to use if he is to live decently on this 

planet as its population grows. Later technical papers will discuss some 

of the techniques involved. 

For the purposes of this session, we can assume that sensitive satellite 

instruments may, in the not too distant future, be used to help man 

map out and better understand the earth's natural resources. Photographic techniques, high resolution radars, the mapping of magnetic 

and gravitational fields, and the detection of other radiations from the 

* NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C. 
' • NRO APPROVED FOR RELEASE 

22 June 2015 

earth's surface are all part of this general technique. Data so collected will .• 

then enable scientists to open up new bodies of mineral ores, to survey 

the forestry resources of continents, to locate the best fishing grounds in • 

the cc cans, or to spot, in advance of earth-bound observation, the onset of 

crop diseases and the invasion of insect pests. 

Done from a satellite, such environmental prospecting lacks at present 

the intimate detail of ground survey or aerial photography. But the very 

scale of satellite photography compensates for this lack of detail. Other 

countries have already asked us for photographs of their territories taken 

with a simple, hand-held camera during recent Gemini flights. One nation. 

hopes, for example, that much time and money may be saved in a hydrological survey by a single color photograph from Gemini. This one picture 

may substantially reduce the amount of aerial photography and ground 

survey work required for the evaluation of its water sources. 

These applications of space--communications, meteorology, navigation, 

and satellite prospecting-operate on an international scale, spanning 

traditional geographic and political barriers. These systems cut across 

national boundaries, without a backward glance at history. 

This discontinuity which space seems to introduce between past and present 

leads some to ignore existing national and international institutions, 

interests, and patterns. One such oversimplification has been to regard 

the satellite as a purely national instrument whose application therefore 

requires no resort to traditional political and economic practices. 

Another oversimplification has been to regard space as so revolutionary 

as to be untreatable except byl revolutionary means. Those who hold this 

view forget that the world is still composed of individual nation-states with. 

differently organized functional and regulatory interests. They despair of 
• NRO APPROVED FOR RELEASE . 

22 June 2015' , 

conventional solutions and'seek to internationalize space applications, 

hoping that all proems will be sept away at the United Nations: w 

Probably, the truth lies somewhere between these two extremes. Neither 

total internationalization nor traditional diplomatic practice may be 

sufficient to handle space applications on an international scale. Moreover, 

it appears that neither individual nations nor international bodies are yet 

wholly conditioned to the new technology. 

Consider the oceans, for example. The principle of freedom of the high seas 

has long been established. Some 23 separate international bodies deal with 

the distribution of data regarding the oceans. They regulate fishing and 

ship traffic, and deal with the safety of shipping. Each of these bodies is 

highly specialized. To date, at least, few have considered seriously their 

relationship to a satellite which may simultaneously chart.ocean currents, 

point out the best commercial fishing areas, measure the erosion of 

coast lines or the silting up of harbors and watch for errant icebergs or 

the danger signs of a tsunami. 

To whom should the data from such a satellite be reported? To the 

country that put it up? To all nations bordering the oceans? To scientific 

organizations preoccupied with oceanography? To the International Ice 

Patrol? To the International Whaling Commission? Or to such regional 

bodies as the Interamerican Tropical Tuna Commission? Each of these 

entities has its specialized interests, yet none is fully equipped to analyze 

or distribute information about the resources of the oceans as a whole. 

The same argument may be applied to agriculture. Satellite systems may 

be able to furnish vital crop census statistics on a global basis. They may 

also be able to detect the early incidence of plant diseases and perhaps warn 

, • 

of the failure of an entire crop or of the migration of insect pests. Over 
;• • NRO APPROVED FOR RELEASE 

.40% a 22 June 2015 

70 international, intergovernmental and non-governmentanodies have 

been created to handle agricultural raportin2,., to disseminate information, 

and to regularize the economics of this ecologically dependent industry. 

As with oceanography, no single body appears equipped to handle the 

truly global sweep of a satellite survey of agricultural conditions, 

with its attendant political and commercial implications. 

We may conclude then, that the applications of space to our terrestrial 

economy are not fu'?-7 met by existing national or international arrangements 

Neither purely selfish interests nor unrealistic internationalism seems to 

provide the practical solutions needed in the years to come. What may be 

required is an enlightened self-interest diffused with a recognition of the 

international character of space applications and the possible need for new 

• 

or revamped human institutions. Consequently, there is.demand for research 

and sober study to find ways to adapt this new technology to the betterment of 

. . 

• •:.: mankind. It is, to this--the investigation of the international framework 

within which space Can best'benefit man—that we dedicate this session today. .-..• • • 

. In this session we shall prodeed'from the case history of an actual space 

application- -already tested by the challenge of international reality- -to the 

yet untested future 'of space prospecting for natural resources. If from this 

session we.emerge-with:a.recognition of the need for further research, for 

further discussion, and for development of practical policies to deal with 

the political, legal, and economic problems we have yet to face, then this 

AAS.session will have been a successful pioneering effort, 

4.: