The Feasibility of Space-Based Remote Sensing in the Verification of a Treaty to Prevent an Arms Race in Outer Space

Abstract

There are at least a dozen existing treaties and conventions which are of relevance to the arms control and outer space issue. These are discussed in a Canadian working paper (CD/618) submitted to the Conference on Disarmament (CD) in Geneva during its 1985 summer session. From the multilateral aspect two treaties are of particular importance. The first one is the 1963 Partial Test Ban Treaty which specifically prohibited nuclear weapon test explosions in space. The second, the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, generally regarded as the corner stone of international space law, established a basic legal framework for general space exploration and utilization. While not an arms control treaty per se, it does, in Article IV, specifically address military activities. Article IV prohibits the emplacement of nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction in earth orbit. It also bans the establishment of military bases, installations and fortifications, the testing of any type of weapons and the conduct of military manoeuvres on celestial bodies.