In the event that a space object or parts thereof land in the territory of another Contracting State, the State in which the object lands is required (at the request of the launching authority) to recover the space object and return it to the launching authority. The rescue agreement stipulates that the launching State must then compensate the State for the costs incurred in recovering and returning the space object. The controversy over this article arose from the sensitivity of States, which would be obliged to take “all possible measures” to rescue persons who landed on their respective territories without their consent, and to implicitly allow representatives of the launching authority to enter if their assistance “would contribute significantly to the effectiveness of search and rescue operations”. In the rescue agreement, only article 5 deals with the issue of space objects that have suffered an unfortunate and unintentional accident and, therefore, have landed in whole or in part somewhere on Earth. Article 5 provides: “Any Party that receives or discovers information that a space object or its components has returned to Earth in the territory under its jurisdiction or on the high seas or in any other place not under the jurisdiction of a State shall inform the launching authority and the Secretary-General of the United Nations. 2. Each Contracting Party responsible for the territory in which a space object or its components has been discovered shall, at the request of the launching authority and upon request with the assistance of that authority, take such measures as it deems possible to recover the object or components. 3. At the request of the launching authority, space-drawn objects or their components outside the territorial limits of the launching authority shall be returned to the launching authority or kept at their disposal by representatives of the launching authority who, upon request, shall provide identification data prior to their return. 4. Notwithstanding paragraphs 2 and 3, a Party that has reason to believe that a space object or its components discovered in an area under its jurisdiction or otherwise recovered is dangerous or harmful may notify the launching authority, which shall immediately take effective action under the direction and control of that Party.
to eliminate the potential risk of damage. 5. The costs of complying with the obligations to recover and return a space object or its components referred to in paragraphs 2 and 3 of this Article shall be borne by the launching authority. The rescue agreement may have largely reflected the interests of the two superpowers at the time, as they were the only states capable of putting humans into space, and therefore the only two that cared about the well-being of astronauts. But by including the manipulation of space objects upon their return to Earth, it took over the interests of a handful of other states that had already developed their own launch capabilities. The history of the rescue agreement began shortly after the start of the space age with a 1959 report of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space: “Problems with the re-entry and landing of spacecraft will exist both with respect to unmanned spacecraft and later with respect to manned exploration vehicles. Recognizing that landings can be caused by accident, error or distress, the members of the Committee drew attention to the desirability of concluding multilateral agreements on re-entry and disembarkation. Issues that could be covered by such agreements include the return of the vehicle itself to take-off and, in the case of a crewed vehicle, provisions for the prompt return of personnel. »; The 1963 Declaration of Principles would soon be recognized as binding customary international law. Second, the 1968 Rescue Agreement was to be adopted shortly after the entry into force of the Outer Space Treaty in 1967. Article V provides: “States Parties shall consider astronauts to be human messengers in outer space and shall provide them with all possible assistance in the event of an accident, distress at sea or emergency landing in the territory of another State Party or on the high seas.
When astronauts make such a landing, they must be safely and quickly brought back to the state of registration of their spacecraft. When carrying out activities in outer space and on celestial bodies, astronauts of one State Party shall provide all possible assistance to astronauts of other States Parties. States Parties shall immediately inform other States Parties or the Secretary-General of the United Nations of any phenomena they discover in outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, that may constitute a threat to the life or health of astronauts. Article 5 deals with the return of space objects and is perhaps the most obvious example of how the Rescue Agreement developed the core obligations under the Outer Space Treaty. The last sentence of article VIII of the Outer Space Treaty merely imposes an obligation on the parties to return space objects to the launching authority, provided that identification data are provided upon request. Article 5 of the 1968 Rescue Treaty establishes a number of subsidiary rights and obligations. .