ASTRONOMER friends tell me some of the brightest objects in the night sky
these days are satellites orbiting the Earth. Whether the satellites are for
communications or spying, you can鈥檛 miss them. Strange, then, that the US should
violate the spirit of the 1975 UN Convention on Registration of Objects Launched
into Outer Space. The convention requires nations to keep a registry of objects
that they launch into space, and provide the UN with a copy of the list. New
快猫短视频 recently reported that Jonathan McDowell of the
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Massachusetts, has
noted several discrepancies in the US registry, and it seems the Pentagon is
keeping mum as to why
(快猫短视频, 11 August, p 5).
I asked Foreign and Commonwealth Office ministers if
Britain had approached the Americans about
what appears to be their casual attitude to the 1975 convention.
Peter Hain, an FCO minister with responsibilities for security policy for
Europe, replied that although the convention requires states to keep national
registries of anything they launch into space, it is left to their discretion
what those registries contain and how they are maintained. However, they are not
obliged to furnish details if they are not held on their national
registries.
Hain added that the US Satellite Catalog is an invaluable resource
because it makes it possible to study the evolution of individual satellite
trajectories and the orbital population as a whole. This is likely to become
more important as the number of objects placed in geostationary orbits grows.
Some form of space traffic control may be required to prevent satellites
colliding regularly, said the minister.
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It鈥檚 a problem which needs to be sorted out soon. Space accidents have huge
potential to cause misunderstanding and conflict, especially if satellite
orbital data cannot be trusted. And the matter could be exacerbated if President
George W. Bush pushes ahead with the Son of Star Wars project, or launches
satellites bristling with weaponry
(快猫短视频, 2 June, p 3).
JUST before Parliament broke up for the summer recess, MP Tony Colman asked
Paul Boateng, the Treasury secretary with numerous responsibilities for
environmental issues, if he had held any discussions on the 鈥渃limate-change
levy鈥� with James Jefford, the new chairman of the US Senate Environment and
Public Works Committee. The levy, which emerged from the Kyoto climate treaty,
is effectively a tax on the energy that industry uses. It is widely seen as a
call on industry to mend its ways. Colman said that Jefford wants the US to
re-engage with the Kyoto Protocol negotiations.
He went on to ask whether Boateng agreed with Jefford that, although
emissions trading may be a long-term answer, a regulatory regime such as the
climate change levy is needed. Colman said Jefford hopes US businesses working
in Britain will respect the climate change levy and improve their use of
energy.
Boateng replied that he had not held discussions with Jefford but would like
to. He added that US support for Kyoto is strong and growing. 鈥淭here is every
sign that President Bush understands the importance of the issue,鈥� said the
minister, adding: 鈥渁lthough we have some disagreements about his approach to the
Kyoto targets.鈥�
The sooner Britain holds talks with leading Democrats in Congress about the
Kyoto Protocol, the better.