Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and U.S. President Barack Obama (Credits: The White House/Pete Souza).

After rejecting a European proposal for a space code of conduct, The United States announced its own interest in pursuing such a code in 2012. The US is now following up on that announcement in bilateral discussions with Japan.

“The United States and Japan consider the sustainability, stability, and free access to and use of space vital to our national interests,” said the White House after an April 30 meeting between US President Barack Obama and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda. The two states discussed sharing of Japan’s space-surveillance radar system and non-public data from the US Department of Defense Joint Space Operations Center (Jspoc). Jspoc is a military organization that is widely seen as the most comprehensive space debris observational and collision avoidance tool currently in existence.

It is not clear what steps will be taken next. The authority for negotiating such an agreement lies with US Stratcom commander Air Force General Robert Kehler, although final agreement would be subject to approval from the US Departments of State and Defense.

An international code of conduct is seen by many as a requisite step in the fight to limit space debris proliferation and maintain equal access to space. The European code of conduct was first proposed in response to a spike in space debris caused by a 2007 Chinese ASAT test, followed by the shooting down of USA-193 by the US Navy as it reentered the atmosphere. The 12-page draft calls for nations to “have access to, explore, and to use outer space […] fully respecting the security, safety of space objects in orbit consistent with international law and security, safety, and integrity standards.” Included in the code are measures to reduce the creation of additional space debris for increased international transparency and communication in the event of on-orbit anomalies, including satellite malfunctions, accidents causing orbital debris, atmospheric reentry, and maneuvers that would bring satellites close together. The US objected to the document as being too restrictive.

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Merryl Azriel

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Having wandered into professional writing and editing after a decade in engineering, science, and management, Merryl now enjoys reintegrating the dichotomy by bringing space technology and policy within reach of an interested public. After three years as Space Safety Magazine’s Managing Editor, Merryl semi-retired to Visiting Contributor and manager of the campaign to bring the International Space Station collaboration to the attention of the Nobel Peace Prize committee. She keeps her pencil sharp as Proposal Manager for U.S. government contractor CSRA.

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