Minggu, 26 Desember 2010

Cosmos 954 Case (1978-1981)

Para pihak dalam perkara ini adalah Kanada dan Uni Soviet. Perkara ini diselesaikan dengan cara negosiasi (non-litigasi) antara keduabelah pihak karena berdasar pada perjanjian yang sebelumnya telah mereka sepakati yaitu Pasal IX Liability Convention 1972.

Fakta-Fakta Kasus Cosmos-954
Kasus ini berkenaan dengan jatuhnya satelit milik Uni Soviet yang bertenaga nuklir dengan nama Cosmos-954 di Kanada. Satelit tersebut diluncurkan pada tanggal 18 September 1977, Uni soviet menempatkan satelitnya di orbit dan telah memberitahukan kepada Sekretariat Jenderal PBB tanggal 24 Januari 1978. Satelit Cosmos dilengkapi dengan reaktor nuklir seberat 55 Kg dan menggunakan bahan uranium 235 dengan komposisi 90% uranium 235. Beberapa minggu setelah peluncuran satelit yang direncanakan ditempatkan di ketinggian 270 Km diatas permukaan bumi itu mengalami kerusakan dan tidak dapat berfungsi lagi. Sebab-sebab kemorosotan fungsi itu tidak diketahui dengan pasti dan berakhir dengan jatuhnya satelit. Beberapa pendapat menyatakan bahwa Cosmos-954 telah berbenturan dengan serpihan sampah ruang angkasa (space debris).

Fasilitas lacak Uni Soviet yang kurang memadai memuat Uni Soviet kehilangan kemampuan untuk memantau secara akurat gerak dan posisi Cosmos-954. Pada tanggal 24 Januari 1978 dilaporkan bahwa Cosmos-954 telah memasuki atmosfir bumi dan mengarah ke wilayah Kanada barat Laut. Pada hari yang sama Cosmos 954 telah jatuh di wilayah yang telah diperkirakan, dengan mengakibatkan radiasi radioaktif seluas 600 Km persegi. Meliputi wilayah kanada Utara dan Barat Laut, bagian Utara Queen Chalotte Island, Alberta dan Skatchewan.

Pecahanan Cosmos-954 berbobot sekitar 65 Kg dan mengandung sekitar 3.500 partikel radioaktif. Tingkat raidiasi partikel tersebut sangat bervariasi dari sibuan sampai jutaan dari satu rontgen/jam. Beberapa diantaranya memiliki sifat sangat mematikan. Satu pecahan berukuran tidak terlalu besar, 25 mm x 15 mm x 10 mm, memiliki tingkat radiasi sampai 500 rontgen/jam. Cukup untuk membunuh manusia dalam beberapa jam sejak mengalami kontak pertama, data tersebut hanyalah tentang dampak langsung (acut impact) dari jatuhnya cosmos-954 dan Kanada belum memperhitungkan dampak tidak langsung (cronic impact).

Masalah-Masalah Dalam Kasus Cosmos-954
Pemerintah Uni Soviet menyadari peristiwa yang terjadi telah menyebabkan kerugian bagi Kanada sehingga dalam hal ini tuntutan secara hukum tidak dilakukan, Kanada hanya mengajukan klaim dari segi ganti rugi (Compensation). Sebab untuk melaksanakan operasi pembersihan serta pemulihan kembali lingkungan yang telah tercemar membutuhkan biaya yang banyak dan waktu pula. Dalam kasus ini Uni Soviet menggunakan dua prinsip pencemaran yaitu prinsip good neighboor dan psinisp polutter must pay sebagai prinsip yang telah menjadi hukum kebiasaan internasional.

Persoalan lain yang sangat rumit adalah berkaitan dengan masalah radiasi yang termasuk dampak langsung dan dampak tidak langsung. Pemerintah Kanada dengan bantuan tenaga ahli dari Soviet dan Amerika Serikat membutuhkan waktu yang tidak kurang dari delapan bulan dengan faktor kesulitan yang sangat tinggi. Musim dingin yang telah berlangsung dengan suhu udara -40 sampai -100 derajat Celcius mengakibatkan pembekuan danau dan sebagian besar lahan tertutup salju, sehingga menimbulkan hambatan besar dalam membersihkan lahan dari radiasi.

Kanada telah melakukan dua kali operasi untuk mengatasi pencemaran radioaktif. Pertama dari 24 Januari-20 April 1978 dan yang kedua dari 21 April-15 Oktober 1978. Untuk membiayai keseluruhan fase itu Kanada telah mengahabiskan biaya sebesar telah menghabiskan biaya sebesar $ 12,048,239.11 Kanada untuk fase pertama dan 1,921,904.55 Kanada untuk fase kedua. Total klaim yang diajukan pemerintah Kanada terhadap pemerintah Uni Soviet adalah $ 6,041,174.70 dengan perincian $ 4,414,348.86 berasal dari fase pertama dan $ 1,626,825.84 dari fase kedua. Dalam bagian Reservation dari klaimnya, pemerintah Kanada menyatakan :
The goverment of Canada reserves its right to present aditional claims for compensation to the goverment of the United of Soviet Scialistdetermined or damage which way occur in the future as a result of the instrusion of the Cosmos-954 staellite into Canada’s air space and deposit of hazardous radioactive debris from the satellite on Canadian territory.

Kanada dan Uni Soviet telah memilki cara negosiasi sebagaimana ditentukan dalam Pasal IX Lability Convention 1972, sebagai cara penyelesaian sengketa. Menurut ketentuan ini klaim dapat diajukan melalui diplomatic channel. Selanjutnya ditentukan bahwa, dalam hal negara-negara bersengketa tidak memiliki hubungan diplomatik maka klaim demikian dapat diajukan melalui Sekjen PBB, sejauh kedua pihak yang bersengketa adalah anggota PBB.

Kesimpulan
Kasus Cosmos-954 menunjukkan bahwa:
1. Suatu kegiatan yang berada di bawah pengawasan negara tertentu yang dilakukan di kawasan yang berada di luar batas-batas wilayah negara tetap merupakan kegiatan yang potensial berdampak bagi lingkungan hidup negara tertentu.
2. Dampak demikian dapat terselesaikan berdasarkan prinsip hukum internasional melalui mekanisme hukum internasional. Dalam kasus ini berlaku prinsip tanggung jawab negara Absolut Liabilty, berarti negara yang melakukan tindak pencemaran lingkungan mutlak bertanggung jawab tanpa perlu adanya pembuktian sebab telah jelas dampak bagi lingkungan karena kekeliruan dalam melaksankan kegiatan yang berkaitan dengan lingkungan.
3. Dampak demikian tidak selalu harus diselesaikan melalui pembayaran ganti rugi tetapi juga dengan bantuan teknis.

Penerapan sistem ganti rugi (Compensation) dalam prinisp tanggung jawab negara demikian masih menunjukkan bahwa lingkungan hidup sebagai objek hukum masih tetap dipersamakan dengan sifat objek hukum lain, seperti benda dan objek-objek kepentingan lainnya. Klaim Kanada menunjukkan bahwa Kanada sama sekali tidak memperhitungkan kerugian lingkungan yang diakibatkan oleh dampak. Jumlah yang diajukan Kanada hanya terbatas pada biaya operasi yang dikeluarkan selama membersihkan lahan dari radiasi. Penerapan sistem demikian juga menunjukkan bahwa penerapan prinsip ganti rugi tidak cukup memadai untuk memenuhi tujuan-tujuan perlindungan lingkungan, karena umumnya hanya mampu memperhitungkan kerugian-kerugian yang ersifat countable dan sulit menjangkau kerugian yang bersifat uncountable, seperti merosotnya daya dukung dan daya tampung lingkungan, fungsi dan kualitas lingkungan pada umumnya.

Kelemahan ini pula yang membuat prinsip ganti rugi dalam kaitan dengan kerugian lingkungan hidup tidak pernah diterapkan secara mandiri melainkan selalu diimbangi dengan kewajiban-kewajiban lain, seperti kewajiban memberikan bantuan teknis, kewajiban untuk ikut serta dalam mengatasi dampak dan kewajiban untuk mencegah serta menghentikan dampak selanjutnya. Namun dalam prakteknya penerapan prinsip demikian tetap belum dapat memenuhi upaya-upaya pemulihan lingkungan ke keadaan semula. Sifat khusus ini segera menunjukkan bahwa terdapat kebutuhan lain terhadap bentuk-bentuk baru penerapan prinsip-prinsip hukum internasional untuk menjamin agar hukum dapat berperan lebih optimal sebagai instrumen utama perlindungan lingkungan. Seperti Pertama, kesadaran terhadap sifat khusus lingkungan hidup sebagai objek hukum. Kedua, implementasi prinsip-prinsip dan ketentuan hukum internasional yang dapat memberikan perlakuan yang wajar terhadap lingkungan hidup dalam sifat dan kedudukan demikian itu.

Sekalipun sangat berorientasi pada perlindungan kepentingan negara, namun hukum internasional sejak permulaan telah menggunakan dua pendekatan untuk menangani kasus-kasus lingkungan, yaitu pendekatan hukum dan pendekatan teknis. Pendekatan hukum berkenaan dengan penerapan prinsip-prinsip pertanggungjawaban negara termasuk ke dalamnya penerapan asas pencegahan dan asas ganti rugi dan pendekata teknis berkenaan dengan kewajiban mencegah emisi, mengurangi emisi dan mengapuskan emisi.
Sumber Bacaan
Ida Agus Wyasa Putra. 2003. Hukum Lingkungan Internasional,Prespektis Bisinis Internasional. Refika Aditama. Bandung
• Kumpulan Materi Kuliah :
 Penyelesaian Sengketa Internasional
 Internasioanl Law and the Environment


























COSMOS 954 CASE
(CANADA & UNI SOVIET 1978)





HUKUM LINGKUNGAN INTERNASIONAL

DISUSUN OLEH :
KELOMPOK 3
MINARTI (B11107165)
JESSE M. WATTIMENA (B11107176)
RANDY RINALDY (B11107194)
ALVI NAREZA (B11107 )





FAKULTAS HUKUM
UNIVERSITAS HASANUDDIN
MAKASSAR
2010
INTERNATIONAL LIABILITY FOR DAMAGE CAUSED BY SPACE OBJECTS
By Carl Q. christol ☼

INTRODUCTION
The exploration and use of the space environment, consisting of outer
space per se, the moon, and celestial bodies, may result in harm to persons
and to property. International law and municipal law have focused on
rules allowing for the payment of money damages for harm caused by
space objects and their component parts, including the "payload." Both
forms of law have accepted the basic proposition that money damages
should compensate for harm. Principal attention will be given in this
analysis to the kinds of harm caused by space objects that are considered
to be compensable under international law at the present time. 1
In assessing this problem it must be remembered that international space
law has been constructed on the basis that lawful uses of space objects are
those that are peaceful, i.e., nonaggressive, and beneficial to mankind.
Although access to the space environment for the purposes of exploration
and use has proven beneficial to mankind's important needs and wants, it
has been recognized that space objects also carry the possibility of causing
great harm, as was illustrated by the ill-fated Cosmos954.
On January 23, 1979, Canada presented a claim to the Soviet Union for
damages from the Cosmos mishap in the amount of $6,041,174.70. This
sum, later reduced to $6,026,083.56, represented "those costs in respect
of the operations which would not have been incurred had the satellite
not entered Canadian territory." 2
____________________
1 Articles calling attention to U.S. statutes, such as the Federal Tort Claims Act, 28
U.S.C. §§2671-2680 ( 1970 ), and NASA's authority to dispose of certain classes of
claims, 42 U.S.C. §2473(c) (13) (1970), as amended in 1979, where the amount in
controversy is no more than $25,000, have been written by Dula, Management of Inter-
party and Third-Party Liability for Routine Space Shuttle Operations, 26 DRAKE L.
REV. INS. L. ANN. 741, 746-54 ( 1976-77 ); Hosenball, Space Law, Liability and In-
surable Risks, 12 THE FORUM 141, 153-54 ( 1976 ); Wilkins, Substantive Bases for Re-
covery for Injuries Sustained by Private Individuals as a Result of Fallen Space Objects,
6 J. SPACE L. 164-69 ( 1978 ). The Federal Tort Claims Act, as a waiver by the
United States of its sovereign immunity from suit, is subject to exceptions. One is
that a U.S. district court may not adjudicate in a situation where the tort has occurred
abroad. M. WHITEMAN, 8 DIGEST OF INTERNATIONAL LAW813 ( 1967 ).
2 2 Government of Canada, Department of External Affairs, Communiqué No. 8, Janu-
ary 23, 1979. Canada also indicated that its claim was for compensation and was
11 without prejudice to the right of Canada to make additional claims for compensation
in this matter in respect of damage not yet identified or determined." Letter, Canadian
Secretary of State for External Affairs to the Ambassador of the Soviet Union to Canada,
☼ Professor of International Law and Political Science, University of Southern
California.
-346-

The Canadian claim is based on relevant international agreements and
the 1972 Convention on International Liability for Damage Caused by
Space Objects,3 and will require an assessment of the meaning of "com¬
pensation for damage," both in the indicated agreements and in interna¬
tional law generally. For example, the issue of what constitutes a "taking
of property" as a result of the deposit of Cosmos 954 fragments will have
to be resolved. Undoubtedly, it will be necessary to determine if such taking
includes, in the language of the 1961 Harvard draft convention on respon¬
sibility of states for injuries to aliens,
not only an outright taking of property but also any such unreason¬
able interference with the use, enjoyment, or disposal of property as
to justify an inference that the owner thereof will not be able to use,
enjoy, or dispose of the property within a reasonable period of time
after the inception of such interference.4
However, in an early 1978 assessment of Canada's position, it was observed
that "[n]o physical or property damage had been suffered by Canadian
citizens. It also appeared that no measurable damage had been caused
to the Canadian environment by the nuclear debris of the Cosmos."5
____________________
File No. FLA-268, January 23, 1979. Correspondence between the two states relating
to the claim down to March 15, 1979, is set out in 18 ILM 899 (1979). In its note
of March 15, 1979, ...





















Cosmos 954
by Paulette Weaver
copyright 12-02-2001



This is not a story about 'chicken little', because this is not a fairy tale. This is a true story about a Russian satellite that really did fall from the sky. Here follows my true account to the best of my recollection.

Shuffling through some old boxes tucked away in our back storage shed, I came upon a most startling discovery. Remnants and memories of my assignment to Edmonton, way up in the Northwest Territory of Canada, came pouring out of a well-worn cardboard box that had, for all practical purposes, been left unnoticed for 23 years. The year was 1978. I was working for EG&G, prime contractor for the USDOE, who was responsible for the 'timing and firing' of the above ground nuclear testing at the Nevada Test Site. I was a technical analyst, deciphering data taken from these tests, when we got the word.

On Tuesday, January 24, a surveillance craft fell, entering the atmosphere over the Queen Charlotte Islands off British Columbia. The encrypted message contained classified information regarding Cosmos 954. What in the world was that? It turned out to be a Soviet spy satellite, carrying 100 pounds of fissionable Uranium 235, enough radioactive material to match the payload of a nuclear bomb! It's purpose being designed primarily to monitor United States ship movements and transmit, by radio, its findings to Soviet tracking stations. It had been in the air since 1967. It's normal scenario contained that when its tracking mission was over, and that could vary from one year to many, it split into three components and its own rocket system pushed the nuclear pack into a higher, safe orbit. There it drifts for thousands of years as its radioactivity dissipates.

Almost immediately, military authorities of both Canada and the US began searching for what might remain of Cosmos 954. C130 army aircraft cargo planes began to transport our team, along with our remote sensing equipment. NEST, (Nuclear Emergency Search Team) myself included, began readying for the long journey from Nevada to the Northwest Territory. EG&G's mission was to locate, retrieve and categorize pieces of the satellite and debris left behind in its descent to the earth, and make photographic memory of it.

This couldn't have happened at a worse time. It was winter in that part of the world, where temperatures would drop from between 30 to 60 degrees below zero! Out in the field, our photographers had to literally sleep with their film and equipment, in their specially constructed huts, to prevent their supplies from disintegrating from the extreme cold. My group was based in Edmonton, at a Canadian Air Force Base where our labs were set up. We were outfitted with cold-weather gear and given dosimeters to register and record individual radiation levels, if accumulated. We were there to develop, record and categorize all of the incoming film.

Four days later, two young men, Mike Mobley and John Mordhorst of the US, guided their dogsled around a bend in the Thelon River, approximately 1,000 miles from our basecamp in Edmonton, and came across a mysterious object stuck in the river's ice. It looked as though "an unnatural event had occured here", one of them said. The two men were part of a six-man wildlife survey crew bivouacked near Warden Grove, on assignment from an american geographical magazine. By their own account, they approached with trepidation this mysterious object protruding from the ice. They had seen earlier a low-flying aircraft in the sky that they thought perhaps could have been the result of an air crash, leaving this piece of debris of iron in the ice. Soon, over their two-way radios, they heard of the fallen satellite and promptly relayed a message to Yellowknife, a small Indian village near by, telling them of their find. It was later learned that pieces of this satellite had strewn itself across hundreds of miles along the Northwest Territory! Our team would be there for quite some time. Soon, a Canadian Armed Forces Twin Otter touched down to take the two men to Edmonton for medical examination. Upon completion of extensive testing, they were brought to our base camp where they immediately developed superstar status. These two, unpretentious young men, captured our attention with their accounts of adventure and tests of endurance.

Security restrictions are now telling me to end this account. My tenure with EG&G spanned 15 years and never in my wildest imagination did I ever think I would become a part of this once in a lifetime adventure.

sources: Saint John's Edmonton Report, 1978
DISINTEGRATION OF COSMOS 954 OVER CANADIAN TERRITORY IN 1978

Canadian Department of External Affairs Communique No. 27 Settlement of Claim between Canada and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics for Damage Caused by Cosmos 954
Released on April 2, 1981: The Secretary of State for External Affairs, Dr. Mark MacGuigan, announced today the signature of the formal Protocol settling Canada's claim for damages caused by the disintegration over Canada of the Soviet satellite 'Cosmos 954'. The Protocol was signed in Moscow by Canada's Ambassador to the USSR, Geoffrey Pearson and, on behalf of the USSR, by N.S. Ryzhov, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The text of the Protocol is attached.
Protocol between the Government of Canada and the Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
Done on April 2, 1981 With Statement of the Canadian Claim
The Government of Canada and the Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, have agreed as follows:
Article I
The Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics shall pay to the Government of Canada the sum of three million Canadian dollars (C$ 3,000,000.00) in full and final settlement of all matters connected with the disintegration of the Soviet satellite Cosmos 954 in January 1978.
Article II
The Government of Canada shall accept the payment of the sum of three million Canadian dollars (C$ 3,000,000.00) in full and final settlement of all those matters referred to in Article I hereof, including the claim advanced by Canada in this respect.
Article III
This Protocol shall enter into force on the date of signature.
In witness whereof the undersigned, duly authorized by their respective Governments, have signed this Protocol.
Done in duplicate at Moscow this second day of April 1981, in the English, French and Russian languages, all texts being equally authentic.
For the Government of Canada
For the Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics

STATEMENT OF CLAIM
Introduction
1. This Statement sets forth Canada's claim for compensation for damage the result of the intrusion into Canadian air space of a Soviet space object the Cosmos 954 satellite, and the deposit on Canadian territory of hazardous radioactive debris from the satellite. The claim is presented pursuant to the 1972 Convention on International Liability for Damage caused by Space Objects and the international practice of states. The Statement outlines the facts giving rise to the claim, the legal principles applicable to the claim, the compensation claimed and certain reservations entered by Canada.
The Facts
2. The Soviet space object, the Cosmos 954 satellite, hereinafter also referred to as the satellite, was placed in orbit by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on September 18, 1977. The Secretary-General of the United Nations was officially informed of the launching, as reported in United Nations document No. A/AC.105/INF.368 of November 22, 1977. According to the Note of March 21, 1978 of the Embassy of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in Ottawa, the satellite carried on board a "... nuclear reactor working on uranium enriched with isotope of uranium-235". On January 24, 1978,the satellite entered the earth's atmosphere intruding into Canadian air space at about 11:53 A.M. Greenwich Mean Time to the north of the Queen Charlotte Islands on the westcoast of Canada. On re-entry and disintegration, debris from the satellite was deposited on Canadian territory, including portions of the Northwest Territories, Alberta and Saskatchewan.
3. Within minutes of the re-entry and the intrusion of the satellite into Canadian airspace the Government of the United States of America made an offer of technical and material assistance to assist Canadian emergency operations. This offer of assistance was accepted immediately by the Government of Canada.
4. In the course of the day January 24, 1978 an official of the Department of External Affairs expressed to the Ambassador of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in Ottawa the surprise of the Government of Canada that the Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics had failed to give Canada notice of the possible re-entry of the satellite into the earth's atmosphere in the region of Canada and subsequently, of the imminent re-entry of the satellite. The Canadian official put questions to the Ambassador concerning the satellite and, noting information as to the presence of a nuclear reactor on board the satellite, requested that precise responses be provided urgently. The questions posed on that occasion were reiterated on January 27, 1978 and are recorded in the Department of External Affairs Aide-Memoire of February 8, 1978 presented to the Embassy.
5. Later on January 24, 1978, the Ambassador of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics advised an official of the Department of External Affairs that the satellite had been expected to enter the dense layers of the atmosphere on January 24, 1978 and, in case it did not burn out completely in the atmosphere, the possibility that some of its parts would fall in the area of the Aleutian Islands was not excluded. The Ambassador asserted that there should not be any sizeable hazard and that in places of impact there could only be insignificant local pollution requiring very limited measures of disactivation. He also stated that the construction of the nuclear reactor on board the satellite envisaged its complete destruction on re-entry of the satellite into the dense layers of the atmosphere. On that occasion, the Ambassador expressed his Government's readiness to render urgent assistance by sending to Canada a group of specialists to ameliorate the possible consequences and evacuate remnants of the satellite. Canadian officials replied that their urgent need was for immediate and complete answers to the questions posed earlier on January 24, 1978.
6. In the Note of March 21, 1978, the Embassy informed the Department of External Affairs that the active zone of the nuclear reactor on board the satellite "... was a set of heat-emitting elements with a beryllium reflector" and that ''The reactor's design provided for destruction of the reflector at the entry into dense layers of the atmosphere to be followed by the total destruction of the reactor's active zone".
7. The Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics failed to provide timely and complete replies to the questions posed by Canada on January 24, 1978 despite the reiteration of the request for information on several occasions, in particular in the Department of External Affairs' Aide-Memoire of February 8, 1978, in its Note of February 28, 1978 to the Embassy and in its Note of April 13, 1978 to the Embassy. The Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ultimately provided some information in the Notes of the Embassy dated March 21, 1978 and May 31, 1978. This information, particularly that in the latter Note, contributed to the Canadian evaluation of the required course of action.
8. Upon the intrusion of the satellite into Canadian air space and with the apprehension of the deposit of hazardous radioactive debris from the satellite on Canadian territory, the Canadian Armed Forces and the Atomic Energy Control Board of Canada undertook operations directed at locating, recovering, removing and testing the debris and cleaning up the affected areas. The purpose of these operations was to identify the nature and extent of the damage caused by the debris, to limit the existing damage and to minimize the risk of further damage and to restore to the extent possaffected areas to the condition that would have existed if the intrusion of the satellite and the deposit of the debris had not occurred. The operations took place in two phases : Phase I from January 24, 1978 to April 20, 1978 and Phase II from April 21,1978 to October 15, 1978. The total cost incurred by the various Canadian Departments and Agencies involved in Phase I of the operations was $ 12,048,239.11 of which $4,414,348.86 are included in Canada's claim. The total cost incurred during Phase II of the operations was $ 1,921,904.55 of which $ 1,626,825.84 are included in Canada's claim. In sum, Canada claims from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics payment in the amount of $ 6,041,174.70.
9. During the operations described in paragraph 8, debris from the satellite was found in areas of the Northwest Territories and the Provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan. Lists describing the location of the debris are set forth in annexes to the Department of External Affairs Notes dated February 8, 1978, March 3, 1978 and December 18, 1978,to the Embassy of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Inscriptions in the Cyrillicalphabet can be distinguished on one of the fragments recovered.
10. The Canadian authorities determined that all but two of the fragments recovered were radioactive. Some fragments located proved to be of lethal radioactivity. It was necessary for the debris to be handled with great care as it is well established that radioactive material can have serious physiological effects and in some cases fatal. The debris recovered was sent to the Canadian Government's Whiteshell Nuclear Research Establishment at Pinawa, Manitoba. There tests were carried out on the debris, the results of which provided valuable information that was of assistance with regard to the operations and confirmed that highly radioactive and dangerous debris from the satellite had been deposited on Canadian territory.
11. The Government of Canada informed the Secretary-General of the United Nations of the discovery of debris from the satellite as is indicated in United Nations documents A/AC.105/214 and 214/Corr. l of February 8, 1978; A/AC.105/217 of March 6, 1978 and A/AC.105/236 of December 22, 1978.
12. In addition to general admissions as to the origin of the Cosmos 954 satellite, the Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics confirmed the Canadian conclusion as to the origin and identity of the recovered debris by admissions contained in the statement made on February 14, 1978 in the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space by Academician Fedorov, a representative of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. In addition, the Note from the Embassy of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in Ottawa dated May 31, 1978 includes admissions to the effect that debris found in the Northwest Territories of Canada originated from the satellite.
13. It is thus beyond doubt on the basis of the operations described above and on the basis of admissions by representatives of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics that the debris found in the areas covered by the operations originated from the Soviet space object identified as the Cosmos 954 satellite.
The Law
14. Canada's claim is based jointly and separately on (a) the relevant international agreements and in particular the 1972 Convention on International Liability for Damage caused by Space Objects, to which both Canada and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics are parties, and (b) general principles of international law.
(a) International Agreements
15. Under Article II of the Convention on International Liability for Damage caused by Space Objects, hereinafter also referred to as the Convention, " A launching State shall be absolutely liable to pay compensation for damage caused by its space object on the surface of the earth ..." The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, as the launching State of the Cosmos 954 satellite, has an absolute liability to pay compensation to Canada for the damage caused by this satellite. The deposit of hazardous radioactive debris from the satellite throughout a large area of Canadian territory, and the presence of that debris in the environment rendering part of Canada's territory unfit for use, constituted "damage to property" within the meaning of the Convention.
16. The intrusion into Canadian air space of a satellite carrying on board a nuclear reactor and the break-up of the satellite over Canadian territory created a clear and immediate apprehension of damage, including nuclear damage, to persons and property in Canada. The Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics failed to give the Government of Canada prior notification of the imminent re-entry of the nuclear powered satellite and failed to provide timely and complete answers to the Canadian questions of January 24, 1978 concerning the satellite. It thus failed to minimize the deleterious results of the intrusion of the satellite into Canadian air space.
17. Under general principles of international law, Canada had a duty to take the necessary measures to prevent and reduce the harmful consequences of the damage and thereby to mitigate damages. Thus, with respect to the debris, it was necessary for Canada to undertake without delay operations of search, recovery, removal, testing and clean-up. These operations were also carried out in order to comply with the requirements of the domestic law of Canada. Moreover, Article VI of the Convention imposes on the claimant State a duty to observe reasonable standards of care with respect to damage caused by a space object.
18. The operations described in paragraph 8 above would not have been necessary and would not have been undertaken had it not been for the damage caused by the hazardous radioactive debris from the Cosmos 954 satellite on Canadian territory and the reasonable apprehension of further damage in view of the nature of nuclear contamination. As a result of these operations, the areas affected have been restored, to the extent possible, to the condition which would have existed if the intrusion of the satellite and the deposit of the debris had not occurred. The Departments and Agencies of the Government of Canada involved in these operations incurred, as a result, considerable expense, particularly with regard to the procurement and use of services and equipment, the transportation of personnel and equipment and the establishment and operation of the necessary infrastructure. The costs included by Canada in this claim were incurred solely as a consequence of the intrusion of the satellite into Canadian air space and the deposit on Canadian territory of hazardous radioactive debris from the satellite.
19. In respect of compensation for damage caused by space objects, the Convention provides for "... such reparation in respect of the damage as will restore... [the claimant] to the condition which would have existed if the damage had not occurred"(Article XII). In accordance with its Preamble, the Convention seeks to ensure "... the prompt payment... [under its terms] of a full and equitable measure of compensation to victims of such damage" (Fourth preambular paragraph). Canada's claim includes only those costs which were incurred in order to restore Canada to the condition which would have existed if the damage inflicted by the Cosmos 954 satellite had not occurred. The Convention also provides that "The compensation which the launching State shall be liable to pay for damage under this Convention shall be determined in accordance with international law and the principles of justice and equity...” (Article XII). In calculating the compensation claimed, Canada has applied the relevant criteria established by general principles of international law and has limited the costs included in its claim to those costs that are reasonable, proximately caused by the intrusion of the satellite and deposit of debris and capable of being calculated with a reasonable degree of certainty.
20. The liability of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics for damage caused by the satellite is also founded in Article VII of the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, done in 1967, and to which both Canada and the Union of Socialist Republics are parties. This liability places an obligation on the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics to compensate Canada in accordance with international law for the consequences of the intrusion of the satellite into Canadian air space and the deposit on Canadian territory of hazardous radioactive debris from the satellite.
(b) General Principles of International Law
21. The intrusion of the Cosmos 954 satellite into Canada's air space and the deposit on Canadian territory of hazardous radioactive debris from the satellite constitutes a violation of Canada's sovereignty. This violation is established by the mere fact of the trespass of the satellite, the harmful consequences of this intrusion, being the damage caused to Canada by the presence of hazardous radioactive debris and the interference with the sovereign right of Canada to determine the acts that will be performed on its territory. International precedents recognize that a violation of sovereignty gives rise to an obligation to pay compensation.
22. The standard of absolute liability for space activities, in particular activities involving the use of nuclear energy, is considered to have become a general principle of international law. A large number of states, including Canada and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, have adhered to this principle as contained in the 1972 Convention on International Liability for Damage caused by Space Objects. The principle of absolute liability applies to fields of activities having in common a high degree of risk. It is repeated in numerous international agreements and is one of “the general principles of law recognized by civilized nations” (Article 38 of the Statute of The International Court of Justice). Accordingly, this principle has been accepted as a general principle of international law.
of Canada reserves its right to claim from the Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics all costs that Canada may be obliged to incur in the event of the establishment of a Claims Commission under the provisions of the 1972 Convention on International Liability for Damage caused by Space Objects and the presentation by Canada 23. In calculating the compensation claimed, Canada has applied the relevant criteria established by general principles of international law according to which fair compensation is to be paid, by including in its claim only those costs that are reasonable, proximately caused by the intrusion of the satellite and deposit of debris and capable of being calculated with a reasonable degree of certainty.
Compensation Claimed
24. On the basis of the facts asserted and the legal principles referred to herein, the Government of Canada claims payment from the Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics of the sum of $ 6,041,174.70.
Reservations
25. The Government of Canada hereby enters reservations as follows :
a. The Government of Canada reserves its right to present additional claims for compensation to the Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in respect of damage not yet identified or determined or damage which may occur in the future as a result of the intrusion of the Cosmos 954 satellite into Canada's air space and the deposit of hazardous radioactive debris from the satellite on Canadian territory;
b. The Government of its claim to such a Claims Commission; and
c. The Government of Canada reserves its right to claim from the Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics payment of interest at an appropriate rate on the amount of compensation declared payable by a Claims Commission, such interest to accrue from the date of the decision or award of the Claims Commission.
When Satellites Fall: On the Trails of Cosmos 954 and USA 193
Lisa Parks / UC Santa Barbara
Posted by Lisa Parks / University of California - Santa Barbara on June 12th, 2009 1 Comment Printer-Friendly
During the past 50 years approximately 17,000 human-made objects have re-entered the earth’s atmosphere. Most of these objects incinerate as they tumble toward the planet, but many fragments fall upon the earth. On a few occasions rogue satellites have fallen, raising concerns about public safety and posing threats to the natural environment. In this essay I discuss two incidents when satellites that were falling back to earth became high-profile media events. The first was a Soviet radar satellite, Cosmos954, in 1978 and the second a US spy satellite, USA193, in 2008. These events are significant moments for media studies for several reasons. First, they draw attention to publicly-funded secret satellites that have historically been used to image the earth and manage geopolitical tensions. Second, they reveal the deeply intertwined relation of satellite media to issues of global security and serve as a reminder, as Jim Schwoch has shown, that the greatest global communication technologies emerged alongside the most dangerous technologies of global destruction.1 Finally, these moments provide an opportunity to contemplate the high costs of satellite failure, which result not only in communication breakdowns and huge financial losses, but can have detrimental effects on the environment as well.
Cosmos 954
On January 24, 1978 a Soviet radar satellite, known as Cosmos 954, plummeted into the Great Slave Lake area of the Northern Territories in Canada (roughly the same area where the television show Ice Road Truckers is now shot). The satellite was launched from a facility in Kazakhstan on September 18, 1977 and by October 29, 1977 NORAD monitors revealed that Cosmos 954 was out of orbit and predicted it would re-enter the earth’s atmosphere sometime in April 1978. The primary concern about Cosmos 954’s tumble back to earth was the nuclear reactor it had on board. Because the satellite was carrying 110 pounds of enriched uranium, some officials predicted Cosmos 954’s crash could result in the “worst nuclear contamination since Hiroshima and Nagasaki.”2 Since US and Canadian officials were uncertain where Cosmos 954 would land, they decided not to issue a public announcement detailing the nuclear concern. When it became clear, however, that Cosmos 954 would fall months earlier than predicted, the US State Department on January 18, 1978 relayed a secret message to its NATO allies and to Australia, Japan and New Zealand informing state diplomats about the matter.
On January 24, 1978 the world’s news agencies sent reporters to the icy tundra near Yellowknife to investigate the “killer satellite.” Journalists reported on the massive size of the debris field, the fragments that had been recovered, the nature of the retrieval mission and the Canadian government’s attempts to communicate with Inuit communities in the vicinity of the crash whose water and food supplies were in danger of exposure to radiation. After the satellite fell, the US Departments of Energy and Defense banded together with Canadian agencies to mount a five-month retrieval mission called Operation Morning Light that utilized U2 and KC-135 aircraft to help locate concentrations of radioactive particulate and recover the satellite’s fragments. Since the Soviets were tight-lipped about the satellite’s composition, some suggest the recovery effort was as much about investigating the current state of Soviet satellite technology as it was about retrieving radioactive debris.
In the months following the crash the Canadian government sought compensation from the Soviet Union in the amount of $3 million (Canadian) under the 1972 Convention on International Liability for Damage caused by Space Objects. This international law holds satellite owners liable for the damages caused when space objects fall back to earth. The Soviets fought this case claiming that Cosmos 954 had broken up by the time it fell to earth and thus could no longer be recognized as a “satellite” when it landed in the Northwest Territories. The fall of Cosmos 954 not only established an occasion to test satellite liability law, but Operation Morning Light became a prototype for future satellite recovery missions.
USA 193
Almost exactly thirty years after Cosmos 954 fell, another satellite drifted out of orbit and began to move toward Earth. USA 193 was a classified spy satellite (also known as NROL-21) that had been launched on December 14, 2006 from Vandenberg Air Force base in California. Communication with the satellite failed shortly after its launch. Rather than allow USA 193 to fall to the earth’s surface, the US government devised an elaborate scheme to intercept and destroy it with an SM-3 missile. US officials expressed concerns about the 1000-pound tank of hydrazine fuel on board the satellite and claimed it could form into a toxic cloud the size of two football fields if the satellite were to crash and pose a serious public health risk. Many were skeptical of this claim and speculated instead that the US did not want this classified satellite to fall into foreign hands because future US spysat fleets were slated to use similar technologies. Still others interpreted the US satellite shoot-down as a geopolitical showdown in which the US set out to demonstrate its anti-satellite (ASAT) missile capabilities following a controversial and high-profile test the Chinese had conducted in 2007.
Despite the various speculations, on Feb 20, 2008 a missile launched from the US Navy vessel USS Lake Erie blasted into USA193 as it passed over an area west of the Hawaiian Islands in the Pacific Ocean. Like Cosmos 954’s crash into the Northwest Territories, the interception of USA 193 became a media event as news agencies emphasized the risky nature of the satellite shoot-down, used Google Earth to predict and map where the fragments would land, and evaluated public health risks. After the strike, the US Defense Department held a press conference and released a video showing the missile strike USA 193 as it turned into an incandescent gaseous blob. Amateur satellite trackers in different parts of the world had also been tracking and photographing the secret satellite (along with many others) since its 2006 deployment.3
Cosmos 954 and USA 193 are just two of hundreds of satellites that have failed since the late 1950s. These failures, I want to suggest, are symptomatic of the kind of dandelion capitalism that underpins the satellite economy. Just as fast as the capital to manufacture, launch and operate a satellite accumulates and the technology takes shape, it can be blown away in a blinding flash, its fragments either floating into the oblivion of space or darting cataclysmically toward the earth. The satellite economy has long been structured around such failures, and, as a result, has one of the most complex and expensive insurance industries on the planet. Insurance premiums are typically a satellite operator’s second largest cost. For any given satellite there can be 10-15 large insurers and 20-30 smaller companies involved in issuing policies for different phases of the satellite’s development, transport, launch and in-orbit operation. In 2003 a basic premium for a satellite worth $250 million cost between $40-55 million.4

While much information about USA 193 remains classified, it is known that the satellite was part of a satellite design scheme called Future Imagery Architecture, involving Boeing and Lockheed Martin, for which the US government paid over $10 billion.5 The shootdown operation for USA 193 alone cost US taxpayers $40-60 million.6 Capitalism operates in the satellite economy such that extremely expensive machines are made and installed in orbit without public knowledge only to be spectacularly blown away and become “total losses” right before our eyes. Given such scenarios the study of satellite failures, finances and futures remains a vital path for further investigation.
Author’s Note: This is an excerpt of a longer essay that will appear in the forthcoming book Down to Earth: Satellite Technologies, Industries and Cultures, co-edited by Lisa Parks and James Schwoch from Rutgers University Press.
Image Credits:
1. Debris from space
2. Fragment of Cosmos 954
3. Operation Morning Light mission logo
4. Screen capture of video showing missile strike USA 193
5. Amateur satellite tracker photograph of USA 193 shot from a rooftop in the Netherlands
6. Dandelion
Please feel free to comment.
NOTES
1. Jim Schwoch, Global TV: New Media and the Cold War, 1946-69, Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 2009, p. 130. [↩]
2. C. A. Morrison, Voyage into the Unknown: The Search and Recovery of Cosmos 954, Stittsville, Ontario: Canada’s Wings, Inc., 1982, p. 7. [↩]
3. USA 193,” Sattrackcam Leiden Station Blog, Dec. 26, 2007; John Schwartz, “Satellite Spotters Glimpse Secrets and Tell Them,” The New York Times, Feb. 5, 2008; and Trevor Paglen, Blank Spots on the Map: The Dark Geography of the Pentagon’s Secret World, New York: Dutton, 2009, pp. 97-125. [↩]
4. Andrea Maleter, “Strategies to Mitigate High Satellite Insurance Premiums,” Satellite Finance, Issue 64, Dec. 10, 2003, p. 46. [↩]
5. Noah Schactman, “Rogue Satellite’s Rotten, $10 Billion Legacy,” Wired, Feb. 20, 2008. [↩]
6. Jamie McIntyre and Mike Mount, “Attempt to shoot down spy satellite to cost up to $60 million,” CNN, Feb. 15, 2008. [↩]

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