important questions of national policy and of defense policy. It also inevitably poses highly important questions of foreign policy. In my testimony today I propose, after referring very briefly to certain basic principles, to discuss four major aspects of the problem These are as follows: of outer space. 1. The problem of insuring that outer space is used for peaceful purposes only; 2. Possible international cooperation in outer space; 3. International law affecting outer space; and 4. The pending bill. BASIC PRINCIPLES The basic pattern of our existing foreign policy with respect to space is no different from that which we have with respect to international relations here on the earth. In conformity with our undertakings under article I of the United Nations Charter, it is our purpose to insure that-in space as on the earth-international peace and security are maintained and that international disputes or situations which might lead to a breach of the peace are adjusted or settled in conformity with the principles of justice and international law. We are in favor of international cooperation in solving international problems. At the same time, we are dedicated to the maintenance of the legitimate national interests of the United States and we hold firm to our inherent right of individual and collective self-defense against armed attack, which is fully recognized under article 51 of the United Nations Charter. I believe that my testimony today will demonstrate that the Department's policy with respect to outer space is wholly consistent with the basic principles I have just described. THE PROBLEM OF ENSURING THAT OUTER SPACE IS USED FOR PEACEFUL PURPOSES ONLY The most immediate problem in the field of space foreign policy is how to ensure that outer space is used for peaceful purposes only. As your chairman put it in his opening statement before this committee: The challenge of the atomic age, at the beginning, was to harness a vast destructive power to prevent its use in war. The challenge of the space age, at the beginning now, is to open a new frontier to permit its use for peace. You are doubtless well aware that the United States Government has already taken an initiative in this field. The United States recognized the importance of determining now what steps can be taken to assure that missiles and other outer-space vehicles, already in the development stage, will be utilized solely for peaceful purposes. This recognition stemmed from the fact that today these military space instruments are in the early stages of development. With the passage of time and their continuous growth and refinement, the problem of effective international control becomes more difficult. This point is best illustrated by a similar historical problem. In 1946, international control of the military use of nuclear energy could have been attained with relative ease. Today, as we well know, control of the atom has become a much more vastly complicated and difficult task. Fully cognizant of this lesson of history, the United States proposed to the United Nations on January 14, 1957, that- the first step toward the objective of assuring that future developments in outer space would be devoted exclusively to peaceful and scientific purposes would be to bring the testing of such objects under international inspection and participation. This was the first recognition by any nation of the immediate need to deal with this compelling problem. Since that time we have repeatedly stressed the need-and our willingness to reach agreement in this vital area. During the 1957 United Nations Disarmament Subcommittee meetings in London, in concert with our allies, we formally proposed beginning measures to control for peaceful purposes, the sending of objects through outer space. This proposal reflected our earlier expressions of concern over the dangers of surprise attack and the outbreak of accidental war. It represents an extension upward of our aerial and ground inspection proposals. This proposal was designed to allay these same dangers which are inherent in the continued growth and proliferation of missiledelivery systems. Again, in January of this year, President Eisenhower in a letter to former Premier Bulganin, expressed our concern and our desire to reach agreement on this matter. I should like to quote from that letter, which reads in part: I propose that we agree that outer space should be used only for peaceful purposes. We face a decisive moment in history in relation to this matter. Both the Soviet Union and the United States are now using outer space for the testing of missiles designed for military purposes. The time to stop is now. I recall to you that a decade ago, when the United States had a monopoly of atomic capabilities and of atomic experience, we offered to renounce the making of atomic weapons and to make the use of atomic energy an international asset for peaceful purposes only. If only that offer had been accepted by the Soviet Union, there would not now be the danger from nuclear weapons which you describe. The nations of the world face today another choice perhaps even more momentous than that of 1948. That relates to the use of outer space. Let us, this time, and in time, make the right choice, the peaceful choice. Today, we have pending before the Disarmament Commission of the United Nations, a proposal set forth at London in August 1957. It stands as 1 of 5 basic principles overwhelmingly endorsed by the United Nations as the basis for continued disarmament negotiations. This proposal calls for nations to cooperate in the establishment of a technical committee to study the design of an inspection system which would effectively cover the field of ballistic missiles and other outer space objects to assure their development for exclusively scientific and peaceful purposes. Moreover, we have offered to join immediately in such a study, on a multilateral basis, without awaiting the conclusion of negotiations on other substantive proposals. The Department of State believes that this proposal represents a significant first step toward preventing the use of outer space for military purposes. We intend to continue to emphasize the need to turn this proposal into constructive action. POSSIBLE INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION IN OUTER SPACE I turn now to our second major area of interest, namely, the challenging opportunities for international cooperation in outer space important questions of national policy and of defense policy. It also inevitably poses highly important questions of foreign policy. In my testimony today I propose, after referring very briefly to certain basic principles, to discuss four major aspects of the problem These are as follows: of outer space. 1. The problem of insuring that outer space is used for peaceful purposes only; 2. Possible international cooperation in outer space; 3. International law affecting outer space; and 4. The pending bill. BASIC PRINCIPLES The basic pattern of our existing foreign policy with respect to space is no different from that which we have with respect to international relations here on the earth. In conformity with our undertakings under article I of the United Nations Charter, it is our purpose to insure that-in space as on the earth-international peace and security are maintained and that international disputes or situations which might lead to a breach of the peace are adjusted or settled in conformity with the principles of justice and international law. We are in favor of international cooperation in solving international problems. At the same time, we are dedicated to the maintenance of the legitimate national interests of the United States and we hold firm to our inherent right of individual and collective self-defense against armed attack, which is fully recognized under article 51 of the United Nations Charter. I believe that my testimony today will demonstrate that the Department's policy with respect to outer space is wholly consistent with the basic principles I have just described. THE PROBLEM OF ENSURING THAT OUTER SPACE IS USED FOR PEACEFUL PURPOSES ONLY The most immediate problem in the field of space foreign policy is how to ensure that outer space is used for peaceful purposes only. As your chairman put it in his opening statement before this committee: The challenge of the atomic age, at the beginning, was to harness a vast destructive power to prevent its use in war. The challenge of the space age, at the beginning now, is to open a new frontier to permit its use for peace. You are doubtless well aware that the United States Government has already taken an initiative in this field. The United States recognized the importance of determining now what steps can be taken to assure that missiles and other outer-space vehicles, already in the development stage, will be utilized solely for peaceful purposes. This recognition stemmed from the fact that today these military space instruments are in the early stages of development. With the passage of time and their continuous growth and refinement, the problem of effective international control becomes more difficult. This point is best illustrated by a similar historical problem. In 1946, international control of the military use of nuclear energy could have been attained with relative ease. Today, as we well know, control of the atom has become a much more vastly complicated and difficult task. Fully cognizant of this lesson of history, the United States proposed to the United Nations on January 14, 1957, that the first step toward the objective of assuring that future developments in outer space would be devoted exclusively to peaceful and scientific purposes would be to bring the testing of such objects under international inspection and participation. This was the first recognition by any nation of the immediate need to deal with this compelling problem. Since that time we have repeatedly stressed the need-and our willingness to reach agreement in this vital area. During the 1957 United Nations Disarmament Subcommittee meetings in London, in concert with our allies, we formally proposed beginning measures to control for peaceful purposes, the sending of objects through outer space. This proposal reflected our earlier expressions of concern over the dangers of surprise attack and the outbreak of accidental war. It represents an extension upward of our aerial and ground inspection proposals. This proposal was designed to allay these same dangers which are inherent in the continued growth and proliferation of missiledelivery systems. Again, in January of this year, President Eisenhower in a letter to former Premier Bulganin, expressed our concern and our desire to reach agreement on this matter. I should like to quote from that letter, which reads in part: I propose that we agree that outer space should be used only for peaceful purposes. We face a decisive moment in history in relation to this matter. Both the Soviet Union and the United States are now using outer space for the testing of missiles designed for military purposes. The time to stop is now. I recall to you that a decade ago, when the United States had a monopoly of atomic capabilities and of atomic experience, we offered to renounce the making of atomic weapons and to make the use of atomic energy an international asset for peaceful purposes only. If only that offer had been accepted by the Soviet Union, there would not now be the danger from nuclear weapons which you describe. The nations of the world face today another choice perhaps even more momentous than that of 1948. That relates to the use of outer space. Let us, this time, and in time, make the right choice, the peaceful choice. Today, we have pending before the Disarmament Commission of the United Nations, a proposal set forth at London in August 1957. It stands as 1 of 5 basic principles overwhelmingly endorsed by the United Nations as the basis for continued disarmament negotiations. This proposal calls for nations to cooperate in the establishment of a technical committee to study the design of an inspection system which would effectively cover the field of ballistic missiles and other outer space objects to assure their development for exclusively scientific and peaceful purposes. Moreover, we have offered to join immediately in such a study, on a multilateral basis, without awaiting the conclusion of negotiations on other substantive proposals. The Department of State believes that this proposal represents a significant first step toward preventing the use of outer space for military purposes. We intend to continue to emphasize the need to turn this proposal into constructive action. POSSIBLE INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION IN OUTER SPACE I turn now to our second major area of interest, namely, the challenging opportunities for international cooperation in outer space study and exploration. As you have heard from previous witnesess, this new venture into our universe opens a vast area for programs of scientific study and exploration. At this time I have in mind certain projects from which every nation in the world can benefit: Radio-relay satellites which will provide for near-perfect worldwide radio; TV and radio-telephone service; weather-charting satellites which will afford early warning against natural catastrophe; aids to navigation which will enable aircraft and ships to chart their way over the surface of the earth with great accuracy and speed; construction of space platforms as takeoff points for further outer-space exploration; and manned moon rocket flights to the moon and other planets. These are but a few of the many valuable programs we can anticipate. These programs can have far-reaching international implications. Without proper international coordination and cooperation, such activities could lead to involved international problems and could project narrow rivalries into this new field. Here, however, as with the military implications, one significant fact is readily apparent. The national programs of the two nations now having the technological capability to carry out outer space exploration are still in their early development stage. This limitation will not long exist. Thus, early action is essential if we are to thwart narrow national objectives. There are, moreover, certain technological relationships between areas of potential international cooperation and the military programs which involve outer space. A most obvious illustration of this is the close relationship between the missile-propulsion systems and the means of putting scientific satellites into orbits. Yet it makes clear that an international program of scientific study and exploration is related to efforts to assure the use of outer space for peaceful purposes. There are many other highly technical considerations of this order involved here. Such considerations at the present time are under very active study within the government. The Department of State feels, however, that there are possible arrangements for international cooperation in the peaceful scientific and technological areas of outer space activity. These arrangements could be pursued independently of control arrangements over military uses of outer space. Such cooperation would avoid conflicts of exclusively national programs. It would allow for necessary coordination of activities, thus assuring the most productive efforts. It would facilitate progress through a combination of efforts which would greatly accelerate scientific discoveries. It would provide a means by which many nations would participate in this new venture. It would insure that the scientific study of outer space is carried on in the classic tradition of scientific openness. Finally, such cooperation would set the pattern for further space activities, thus assuring the world of a logical and peaceful progression into the reaches of outer space. To foster and guide the cooperative efforts that are possible, we believe it to be axiomatic that some appropriate international machinery should be created. Its principal responsibility would be to promote and to coordinate efforts in the field of outer space. Its functions might include, among other things, the establishment of certain international space regulations; the collection and exchange of information; and appropriate planning and coordinating of outer |