sponsored by both the United States and the USSR. Resolution 1721 provided the general framework for what would eventually become the 1967 Outer Space Treaty.[1] Part A of the UN resolution stated the UN refusal to recognize any sovereignty in outer space, but nonetheless concluded that outer space was to be free for exploration and use by any and all states in conformity with international law and that outer space was not subject to appropriation by any state.
Even though the United States had become more amenable to, and an actual supporter of concluding international conventions regarding international outer space law, it was not until 1967 that the UN actually adopted the first convention. While the US government (generally State and the White House) became more amenable to the passage of a principles treaty, the Air Force clearly did not encourage or support the passage of such an agreement. Contrary to what they had done with air law, legal scholars did not advocate "freedom of space" but proposed that international law should permit extending sovereignty into outer space and place restrictions on the use of outer space by nation-states. The military establishment, on the other hand, supported sovereignty over and regulated use of airspace under international air law, but opposed sovereignty over and regulation of outer space.
- ↑ J.P. Lorenz, Information Office, United Nations Publications, "Outer Space," Historical Project, 29 October 1968.
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