ODE 18-77

Arnued

xi ở

THIS SHOULD HAVE ARRIVED

EARLIER, APOLOGIES FOR

THE DELAY.

Ref.:

Reference spaceag

4

From:

Clare Losty, ESED

ра

Date:

6 November 1992

Asiasat

In Maltall. Meale deal. fwooed lett te Mkalky fun

Сашиста

c.c.: Dr Young, Leg. Advs.

Mr Tomnay, NTCD Ms Walsh, WIAD Mr Philpott, WIAD Dr Richardson, SAAD Ms Corrigan, SAAD Mr Kirk, SAAD Ms

Mr Cairns, AD(E)

veply by tamona, MS Walker, SAAD

Euffice

Shantel

كلة

Mr Carter, SED Mr Murray, SED Ms Dixon, SPD

Mr Bunten

HKD/Room 305

RATIFICATION OF THE AGREEMENT ON THE INTERNATIONAL MANNED

SPACE STATION

1.

The above agreement, which was signed by the UK on 29 September 1988, needs to be ratified by 31 December 1992 to prevent the agreement being reopened for negotiation (Article 25, paragraph 4) - a development which the UK wishes to avoid.

2.

The question has arisen as to whether any of the Dependent Territories should be included in the ratification (the original agreement was not signed on behalf of any of the Dependent Territories). Our advice from British National Space Centre (BNSC), who lead on civil space issues in Whitehall, is that since none of the Dependent Territories are participants in the International Space Station, it should not be necessary to include them in the ratification process.

-

-

have any

3. I have consulted Legal Advisers. They agree with BNSC ́s line. Unless you

or any of the copy addressees strong objections, I shall proceed with the necessary arrangements to ratify the Agreement on behalf of the UK

alone.

4. On a related issue, copy addressees may wish to consider whether the 1986 Outer Space Act should be extended to the respective Dependent Territories (it was extended to Hong Kong on 14 March 1990), if it is likely that organisations in those Territories will become involved in space activities. The Act can be extended at any time, although it would, of course, be practical to include all the Dependent Territories at once. Perhaps copy addressees could let me have their thoughts on this by the end of November.

HKC 192/1

,

Clare Lusty

Clare Losty x 2276

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