Main Contents and Comment on the 1968 Rescue Agreement

This chapter describes the historical background, basic provisions, main contents, and key changes of the 1968 Space Rescue Agreement (Title: Agreement on the Rescue of Astronauts, the Return of Astronauts and the Return of Objects Launched Into Outer Space). The author points out the legal problems and the solution on the 1965 Rescue Agreement. The Rescue Agreement requires that any state party that becomes aware that the personnel of a spacecraft are in distress must notify the launching authority and the Secretary General of the United Nations. The UN General Assembly adopted the text of the Rescue Agreement on 19 December 1967 through Resolution 2345 (XXII). The Agreement opened for signature on 22 April 1968, and it entered into force on 3 December 1968. As of January 2019, 98 states have ratified the Rescue Agreement, 23 have signed, and three international intergovernmental organizations (the European Space Agency, the Intersputnik International Organization of Space Communications, and the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites) have declared their acceptance of the rights and obligations conferred by the agreement.