TABLE OF CONTENTS
Letter from the Secretary-General
Letter from the Under Secretary-General
Letters from the Academic Assistants
Letter from the Secretary-General
Distinguished delegates and participants of MUNZ’25,
First and foremost I welcome all of you to the second annual edition of MUNZ. My name is Ferhat Deniz Kale and I am currently a junior student studying at Zafer College, it is my utmost pleasure to welcome all of you as the Secretary General of this conference.
It certainly was not easy to prepare this conference but I wholeheartedly believe that all of you will enjoy what we will be offering for the next 3 days both academically and organizationally, to me MUN conferences are both extremely entertaining and improve one’s ability to critically think and speaking skills and one of the main reasons why I am still attending conferences for the past 2-3 years.
I believe that the study guides of your respective committee will have extensive information and shall help you research on the agenda items. With that being said I want to thank my first Deputy Secretary General Boran Alabay for assisting me on certain matters. Additionally I want to thank my Deputy Secretary General Volkan for being an amazing friend and helper throughout my mun journey. He is essentially like a brother to me and I couldn’t be more thankful for that, additionally I want to thank my Head of Crisis Ulaşcan Tunçinan for being one of, if not, the greatest person I have ever met, without him I would not be here writing this letter, also I especially thank my Academic Advisor Görkem Can Coşkun for always being with me and helping me with academic and general matters. I could not have asked for a more loyal and trustworthy person, without him this conference wouldn’t be the same. With that being said I lastly want to thank the whole academic team for their efforts, they are some the greatest people I have ever met and definitely some of the most hardworking people out there.
I hope that MUNZ’25 will be an enjoyable conference to all of you, I wish you the best of luck during the committees. Looking forward to see all of you!
Yours sincerely
Ferhat Deniz Kale
Secretary General of MUNZ’25
Letter from the Under Secretary-General
Letters from the Academic Assistants
Dear Delegates
I am Defne Erdem. I am honored to be your Academic Assistant for this committee and to have worked beside our wonderful under secretary general Ceylin Atasever and our other academic assistant Kemal Tuğra Akçan. I would like to thank them for all their efforts and hardwork in making this committee possible. I unfortunately am not able to attend this conference in person however I wish you all a fruitful debate and a seamless conference.
Sincerely,
Defne Erdem
The Sixth Committee’s Main function is the examination of legal issues within the United Nations Framework. This includes drafting treaties and conventions regarding legal topics like human rights and environmental law in order to promote the development of systematized international law. The committee also aims to strengthen existing legal frameworks on an international level by facilitating discussions, offering legal advice to other UN bodies and promoting mechanisms for peaceful settlement of disputes through legal methods like international courts and tribunals.
The vision of the Legal Committee align with the general goals of the United Nations but with a higher emphasis on the promotion of international law. In order to foster international rule of law, the Legal committee aims to create a universal legal standard that protects human rights and peace across the globe, facilitate collaboration between countries we while addressing legal challenges and ensure that individuals and states take liability for violations of law. The Committee has an emphasis on promoting fairness and equality and aims to prevent and resolve conflicts in a peaceful and just manner. The Sixth Committee envisions a world where international law is a key aspect of peace, justice and security for all of humanity.
The Cold War, which faced the two most powerful nations following World War II -the United States and the Soviet Union- grew into the Space Race. These two superpowers engaged in a global war for domination for fifty years, extending from consumer goods to military might. An important and new venue for the Cold War competition was space. Both sides wanted to prove their dominance in front of a critical public by achieving outstanding rocketry and spaceflight exploits. Beyond these significant accomplishments, spaceflight technologies had additional uses. Missiles may be launched by rockets, and rivals could be observed via satellites.
The Cold War was a battle that arose between the US and the USSR following the end of World War II, in the mid 1950’s. Although it wasn’t an ongoing war, the two nations were engaged in indirect disputes like the Vietnam War and had an atmosphere of military and political conflict that lasted for almost 50 years.
The Soviet Union’s communist governance and the democratically governed United States were at conflict with one another. On the fronts of culture, technology, politics, and the military, both nations aimed at demonstrating their superiority. Certain phases of the Cold War, like the Cuban Missile Crisis, were seen as extremely intense. The Space Race, in which two nations competed to develop innovative technologies to be utilized for space exploration, was an essential aspect of the Cold War. President John F. Kennedy finally set his sights on the Moon.
2 August 1955: With their own satellite, the USSR responds to the US declaration that they plan to launch the first artificial satellite into space.
4 October 1957: The first ever satellite to orbit the Earth; Sputnik 1, is launched by the USSR with success.
The earliest organisms to be sent into space on purpose were fruit flies, even though numerous space missions may have unintentionally carried bacteria and other types of life aboard. These were sent away on February 20, 1947, in a V2 rocket. As a part of an investigation project, the fruit flies were launched from New Mexico’s White Sands Missile Range. The unidentified rocket took off and traveled 67 miles before returning to Earth via parachute. As of this moment, NASA recognizes 66 miles (100 km) as the official beginning of space. Fruit flies therefore qualify as the first animals to have crossed the final frontier.
As mentioned before, Germany utilized the V2 rockets, the first long range guided missiles in history, in World War II. The missiles could reach targets more than 200 miles faraway and reach a maximum speed of 3,500 miles per hour. Many of these rockets were taken by the US after the war and utilized for research, helping to prepare the way for more space flights.
Wernher von Braun
Even NASA’s Saturn V rocket was designed primarily by Wernher von Braun, the person behind the V2.
The flies’ tiny size and lightweight made them easier to transport and minimized fuel usage, making them the ideal passengers for the ride. The effects of cosmic radiation on organic matter were not well understood at the time. Given their genetic similarity to humans, fruit flies were considered suitable subjects for experimentation and study. On the safe recovery of the flies’ capsule, the scientists found that the flies’ genetics had not been mutated by the radiation, which paved the way for future human spaceflight.
The first man-made satellite to orbit the Earth was launched by the USSR on October 4, 1957. Over the course of three months, the satellite -a basketball-sized metal sphere weighing 85 kg (187 lbs)- was propelled into orbit by a massive rocket at a speed of 29,000 km/h (18,000 mph). Sputnik had traveled 70 million kilometers (43.5 million miles) around the earth when it finally broke out of orbit in January 1958. Low-power radio transmitter that periodically emitted a beeping sound was the only cargo on board Sputnik. Radio listeners all around the world might hear this beeping. The United States and the Soviet Union entered a new stage of the Cold War with the launch of the first Sputnik satellite. The Soviet space program was started and was commanded by Sergei Korolev. He supervised the Soviet R-7’s design, which was the first intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). Additionally, Korolev directed the first Sputnik satellite launch utilizing the R-7 rocket.
Sergei Korolev
The V2 rocket -a weapon of Nazi Germany in World War II- served as the model for the R-7. The US and the USSR competed with each other for access to V2 technology and the people who created it as the war with Germany approached to a conclusion. The Soviets were able to secure some V2 designs and parts, even though Wernher von Braun, the program’s leader, and the majority of the team defected to the United States. Also Konstantin Tsiolkovsky’s pioneering rocket development gave the Soviets an advantage.
President Dwight Eisenhower of the United States established the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) a year after Sputnik was launched, thereby the Space Race has begun between the US and the USSR. The International Space Station, which is still in orbit around Earth today, the Space Shuttle, and the Moon landing were all products of this race in technological progress.
3 November 1957: With Sputnik 2, the USSR successfully launches a dog named Laika into space. They create a history by being the first country to successfully launch a living being into orbit.
Numerous animal species, including dogs, mice, and monkeys, were launched into space by the US and USSR’s space programs in the 1940s and 1950s. But, these were suborbital flights. In suborbital flights, spacecraft pass into outer space before falling back to Earth without making an orbit.
On November 3rd in 1957, the dog Laika, traveling aboard the Soviet spacecraft Sputnik 2, became the first animal to orbit the Earth. Laika was a young dog discovered straying in Moscow that was partially Samoyed. She was selected because the Soviet scientists thought an homeless animal would be more resilient to the extreme cold, starvation, and severe circumstances of space travel. However, Laika’s death in space had been expected from the beginning of the mission due to insufficient oxygen and food supplies.
Regarding the moral treatment of animals utilized in space exploration, there were no particular international laws or standards existing. Of course, the mission was a part of the space race between the US and the USSR, and its main driving force was the desire to set significant precedents for space exploration.
The principles of animal rights and the ethical aspect of scientific experimentation were not recognized at the time as they are now. The general mindset was centered on the development of science and technology, frequently at the price of moral considerations.
Due to the mission’s design restrictions, it wasn’t expected that Laika would return safely to planet Earth, and her death was anticipated. Even though by today’s standards this poses serious ethical dilemmas, at the time it was permitted and wasn’t under any particular legislation.
Nevertheless, the mission did raise awareness and generated debate about the ethical treatment of research animals, which ultimately assisted in the formulation of stricter laws and regulations regarding the use of animals in science.
Before the launch, the dog candidates completed a
demanding program of endurance trials and medical examinations as a part of their training. Scientists tested how the animals would perform in the excessively tiny capsule, among other tasks. Over the course of several weeks, Laika and the other two dogs, Albina and Mushka, were kept in progressively smaller cages. Laika was selected because of her calmness under stress and tranquil nature. Laika was characterized by Soviet space mission commander Vladimir Yazdovsky as “quiet and charming.”
Sputnik 2, Laika’s spaceship, was outfitted with a number of modern innovations to ensure her survival. There was an oxygen generator which absorbed carbon dioxide, a heat activated fan to regulate the temperature and the capsule was stocked with enough food to keep the dog alive for seven days.
Various individuals have given numerous interpretations of Laika’s death in space. At first, the Soviet Union said she had been purposefully “put to sleep” with poisoned food or that she passed away when the oxygen levels reduced. According to a number of Russian sources (including the scientists working on the space program) in 1999, Laika passed away on Earth’s fourth orbit due to a malfunction in Sputnik 2’s temperature controls. After roughly 2,570 orbits, Sputnik 2 and Laika’s remains broke apart when they re-entered Earth’s atmosphere on April 14, 1958.
In 2008, nearly 50 years after the historic flight, a monument of Laika was finally built outside of the Star City, a military facility in Russia where she was trained for her spaceflight, in other words, for her death. The statue resembles a rocket that merges into a hand, launching Laika into space.
31 January 1958: With the launch of Explorer 1 -which is the first American satellite into orbit- the United States entered the space race. It was carrying experimental equipment that enabled the identification of the Van Allen radiation belt.
James Alfred Van Allen, an American scientist who constructed the instruments on Explorer 1, made the discovery of the Van Allen radiation belts in 1958. In addition, he supervised the group of scientists who examined and analyzed the radiation data.
Van Allen Radiation Belts
Analogous measurements were made by the Soviet Sputnik 2 spacecraft that launched in November 1957 but this data, which was recorded by the Explorer 1 Geiger counter, signaled the beginning of space physics and a new phase of technology.
Before the launch, researchers planned to detect cosmic rays, which are high energy particles that mostly arise outside of the solar system. They have been the subject of prior research which was using devices placed on balloons and the ground. Following the receivement of the data, Van Allen and his colleagues started investigating the causes and effects of the recently identified radiation belts.
1 October 1958: In the United States of America, the National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics (NACA) has been replaced by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
In the same year that Explorer 1 was launched, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed a proclamation establishing the National Aeronautics and Space Administration as the federal organization of America that is devoted to space exploration.
In addition, Eisenhower established two space initiatives focused on national security that would run parallel with NASA’s program. The first focused on using space to its full military potential and was led by the US Air Force. The second was operated by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) led Air Force and a new organization called the National Reconnaissance Office. It was code-named Corona and its existence and was kept as a secret until the early 1990s. It would use orbiting satellites to gather intelligence about the Soviet Union or their allies.
18 December 1958: The first communications satellite in history: SCORE was launched by the US. As the very first broadcast of an individual’s voice from space, it received global attention when US President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s pre-recorded Christmas message was broadcasted.
2 January 1959: USSR launched the Luna 1, which is referred to as the first “cosmic rocket” since it unintentionally broke out of the Moon’s orbit because of its excessive speed. Luna 1 is the first artificial object created by human beings to orbit the sun rather than the planet Earth.
9 April 1959: NASA presented the first group of astronauts (the Mercury 7).
2 August 1959: The United States launches Explorer 6; the first weather satellite in history. And takes the first images ever of planet Earth that were captured from space.
12 September 1959: By launching Luna 2, the USSR succeeded in making the first spacecraft to reach the lunar surface.
4 October 1959: The aim of putting an object into orbit around the Moon and taking pictures of its far side was accomplished by the USSR with the launch of Luna 3.
30 May 1960: Out of the twenty cosmonauts conducting training, the Soviets chose six of them for further preparations, for the upcoming Vostok space flights.
At Baikonur, the Vanguard Six cosmonauts are examining the Vostok launcher. A Vostok spacecraft may be seen in the background on the right.
19 August 1960: The first living beings returned from space; A variety of plants and two dogs named Belka and Strelka. Both were carried on board the Soviet Union’s Sputnik 5.
The Soviet government secretly permitted a human spaceflight in October 1960. December 1960 was the appointed term. To verify flight readiness, two successful launches of ships with dogs were required. The developers needed to ensure that the life support system is reliable, that overloads are tolerated in various parts of the flight, that the system is functional, and that the crew returns and lands on Earth safely.
On July 28, 1960, the dogs, who were undergoing training for the human space flight program, were launched for the first time. Tragically, the launch was unsuccessful. Lisichka and Chaika, two dogs, died in this collision. The failure remained ignored by the Soviet press.
The first date on which living creatures returned safely to Earth and performed an orbital flight was August 19, 1960. Belka and Strelka, two dogs, were successful “cosmonauts” who flew on the Sputnik-5 spacecraft.
31 January 1961: American chimpanzee Ham, writes history by being the first hominid (or great ape) in space and the first to land safely.
12 April 1961: Soviet Union successfully launches the first human into orbit on Vostok 1, Yuri Gagarin becomes the first cosmonaut ever.
With the intention of sending men into space, the US started to work on Project Mercury after the Soviet Union launched its first satellites in 1957 and 1958. The Vostok program, which the USSR secretly pursued in order to achieve the same goal, saw the launch of Yuri Gagarin, the first human into space.
The Soviet Union’s R-7 Intercontinental Ballistic Missile, or ICBM, served as the model for the rocket that launched Vostok 1 and Yuri Gagarin into orbit. The rocket was modified to carry human payload after it was first intended to launch nuclear weapons towards the United States. When the Soviet Union chose Gagarin and nineteen other pilots to participate in the first cosmonaut training program, Gagarin was a senior lieutenant in the air force. Because of his skills and his little height (1.57 meters, or 5 ‘2″), which made it easier for him to get into his small capsule, he was eventually selected for the Vostok 1 flight. Vostok 1 was made out of a pressurized sphere that was only two meters across and an equipment module that contained the rockets and electronics needed to return the spacecraft to Earth. After ten days, Gagarin would have naturally returned to Earth’s atmosphere in the case that the reentry thrusters malfunctioned. If that occurred, he would have enough food and supplies with him to survive. As a matter of fact, the flight lasted 108 minutes.
5 May 1961: Alan Shepard, a United States citizen, becomes the first American in space during a 15 minute suborbital flight.
20 February 1962: As part of the Mercury 6 mission, John Glenn becomes the first American to orbit the Earth in the Friendship 7 spacecraft.
Project Mercury, also referred to as America’s “man-in-space” initiative, set out to place a
man in orbit, learn about its technological needs, potential medical effects, and return him alive.
Reaching these objectives required further work. The newly established National Aeronautics and Space Administration, or NASA, would be responsible for that. A few months before Project Mercury began, in July 1958, President Eisenhower passed the legislation establishing NASA. It was based on the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), the previous federal research organization that was established in 1915. The space program’s peaceful and scientific parts would be carried out by NASA. A civilian space agency would decrease the competition between the armed forces and boost American position in the Cold War, according to Eisenhower and Senate Majority Leader Lyndon Johnson. In the fall of 1958, a few months after the organization was established, Project Mercury was launched. NASA operated as a private company. But President Eisenhower made the decision to primarily select military test pilots as astronauts. It basically meant that only men who were white might be eligible. Women were not allowed to become pilots in the US military at the time. There were also relatively few test pilots of race due to entrenched racial discrimination.
The seven test pilots that were chosen were called the Mercury 7 and rose to fame right away. John Glenn raised two hands in response to the question of who wished to travel into space first, along with Donald “Deke” Slayton, Alan Shepard, Walter Schirra, Virgil “Gus” Grissom, L. Gordon Cooper, and M. Scott Carpenter. The man who would ultimately be credited with being the first American in space is Alan Shepard. Shepard completed a fifteen-minute suborbital flight on May 5, 1961. His Mercury capsule, which he named Freedom 7, was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida and landed in the Atlantic Ocean.
18 March 1965: Aleksei Leonov, a Soviet cosmonaut, completed the first space walk on Voskhod 2.
3 June 1965: Ed White accomplished the first American space walk onboard Gemini 4.
A crucial stage in US space exploration attempts in the 1960s was the Gemini program. It aimed to fill the knowledge gap between the early Mercury and later Apollo programs by operating from 1961 to 1966. The main goals of Gemini were to advance the technologies and capabilities
required for longer spaceflights and extravehicular activities (spacewalks). Ten manned flights were launched as part of the program, all with two astronauts each. These missions focused on important tasks including orbital maneuvering, rendezvous, and docking operations, and they helped prepare the way for the later Apollo missions, which eventually accomplished the historic moon landings.
27 January 1967: During a launchpad test, astronauts Roger Chaffee, Ed White, and Virgil Grissom died in a fire. There was a one and a half-year delay in the Apollo program.
Lunar Module Pilot Buzz Aldrin. Commander Neil Armstrong, who took the photo, and the Lunar Module Eagle are visible as reflections in Aldrin’s helmet visor.
Right: Aldrin’s footprint in the lunar regolith.
Apollo 11 was intended to be the first spacecraft to land a human on the moon. It was launched on July 16, 1969, at 8:32 AM Central Daylight Time (CDT). On July 19, in the afternoon, Commander Neil Armstrong, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins, and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin entered lunar orbit. The next day, Armstrong and Aldrin arrived in the Lunar Module Eagle to make their way to the lunar surface. Selected as a stage, secure area, the intended landing site in the Sea of Tranquility had been inspected by Apollo 10 from a height of 10 miles above the Moon. Still, Eagle was around 7 kilometers away from the intended landing spot due to a navigational error that occurred early in the flight.
Five unexpected computer alerts occurred during the 12.6-minute powered descent. Mission Control decided that it was safe to proceed with the landing despite the fact that each of these alerts suggested that Eagle’s computer system was overloading. The crew was just over 500 meters above the surface when the final of these alarms went off, less than three minutes before landing. The computer had been pointing the spacecraft towards a dangerous touchdown spot in the hard boulder-filled ejecta field surrounding West Crater as a result of the navigation error.
After switching to manual control, Armstrong flew past the crater to a secure landing area. He declared their safe landing at “Houston, Tranquility Base” at 3:17 PM CDT. “The Eagle has landed.” Mission Control estimated that the spacecraft had only 17 seconds of fuel remaining in the descent stage at the time of landing. However, post-mission investigation revealed that the fuel gauge provided an inaccurate value because of sloshing in the fuel tank while Armstrong was looking for a safe landing spot. When Eagle landed, it actually had roughly 45 seconds remaining in its fuel.
Armstrong and Aldrin checked on Eagle’s systems before getting ready for their moonwalk.
“That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind,” Armstrong said as he stepped foot on the lunar surface at 9:56 PM CDT. Aldrin came next, not too long after. The crew stayed within 60 meters of Eagle for the quick, two hours and thirty-one-minute moonwalk, which was the first of its kind. Armstrong and Aldrin deployed a laser retroreflector to enable accurate measurements of the distance between Earth and the Moon, a seismometer to measure moonquakes, and a device to gather a sample of the solar wind in addition to gathering 21.6 kg of samples. Along with these ceremonial tasks, they also placed a commemorative plaque on the lunar module, brought up the American flag, and spoke briefly with President Richard Nixon.
Collins stayed in lunar orbit in the Columbia command module during the moon landing. Eagle’s ascent stage left the moon after just 21.6 hours and returned to lunar orbit before reuniting with Columbia. Apollo 11 completed 31 lunar circles during the course of 2.5 days in orbit. After an 8 days and 3 hours journey, the crew successfully returned to Earth on July 24, landing in the Pacific Ocean southwest of Hawaii. The crew was placed in a biological quarantine for 21 days even though scientists thought it was unlikely that there would be life on the Moon.
Two main types of rock were identified in the Apollo 11 samples via post-mission analysis. Magma that has melted solidifies to form basalt. The titanium content of the Apollo 11 basalts, which exploded between 3.6 and 3.9 billion years ago, is extremely high. Broken pieces of other
rocks make up breccias. Breccias are generated on the Moon when rocks are crushed by striking objects. The lunar samples’ analysis verified their lack of water and confirmed that they were truly
lifeless.
24 April 1967: The first man to die in space was cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov on Soyuz 1.
First astronauts of Turkey; Left: Tuva Cihangir ATASEVER Right: Alper GEZERAVCI
Yuri Gagarin’s historic journey aboard Vostok, was the beginning of human space exploration. Since that great accomplishment, space exploration has taken a very different course. Many countries now actively participate in sending their chosen individuals into space, not just to boost their own national reputations but also as a means of furthering scientific knowledge. The cosmos is being used as a platform for collaborative global research, with astronauts from various c
ultures participating in international studies. This group effort highlights the transition from Gagarin’s revolutionary days to a global space exploration era.
A space station is an artificial structure placed in orbit and equipped with the pressurized containment, power, materials, and environmental systems necessary to support human habitation for long periods of time. Twelve space stations have been operated for various periods of time since the first was launched into low orbit around Earth in 1971. In chronological order they are; Salyut 1, Skylab, Salyuts 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7, Mir, the International Space Station, Tiangong 1 and 2, and a bigger Chinese space station known as Tiangong.
People’s curiosity about space and the unknown has carried him one step forward for years. He has systematized this curiosity by basing it on his experience and positive knowledge, and has done science by directing it to a certain area. However, his curiosity has not always yielded good results, and sometimes it has had painful consequences. Whether you perceive these accidents as sacrifices or mistakes, it is up to your discretion, but we will share and evaluate these space flight accidents with you in the most detailed way.
Another example of a human space accident is the Gemini 9 accident, which occurred on February 28, 1966. Astronauts Elliot See and Charles Bassett were the prime crew members of the Gemini 9 mission. At the time of the accident, they were performing a routine flight they had performed many times before, flying from Houston to St. Louis. See and Bassett flew in a Northrop T-38A Talon jet trainer, tail number NASA 901 (Air Force serial number 63-8181), with See at the controls and Bassett in the back seat. A second T-38, NASA 907, carried Stafford and Cernan in the same configuration. The two aircraft took off from Ellington Air Force Base, Texas, at 7:35 a.m. CST, with See in the lead and Stafford in the wing position. The weather at Lambert Field in St. Louis was poor, with rain, snow, and fog, scattered clouds at 800 ft (240 m) and a cloud ceiling at 1,500 ft (460 m), and an instrument approach was required. When the two aircraft emerged below the clouds shortly before 9 a.m., both pilots realized they had missed the outer marker and missed the runway. See then elected to make a visual circling approach, a simplified landing procedure that permits flight under instrument rules as long as the pilot can keep the airport and any preceding aircraft in view. Weather conditions reported at the airport were adequate for such an approach, but visibility was patchy and deteriorating rapidly. Stafford began to follow See’s plane, but when he lost sight of him in the clouds, he instead followed standard procedure for a miss approach and pulled his plane up, returning into the clouds for another instrument landing attempt. See made a full circle to the left at an altitude of 500 to 600 ft (150 to 180 m) and announced his intention to land on runway 24 southwest. With the landing gear down and flaps fully extended, the plane dropped rapidly but was far to the left of the runway. See turned on his afterburner to increase power as he came up and turned hard to the right. A few seconds later, at 8:58 a.m. CST, the plane hit the roof of McDonnell Building 101 on the northeast side of the airport. It lost its right wing and landing gear on impact, then somersaulted and crashed into a parking lot beyond the building, which was being used as a construction site.Unfortunately, no crew members survived this accident, both died as a result of the trauma they experienced at the time of the accident. Following this tragedy, authorities launched a comprehensive investigation, and ultimately determined that the accident was caused by pilot error.
Apollo 1 was the first crewed mission of the United States Apollo program. The purpose of this program was the greatest effort of America, which had fallen behind the Soviets in the space race that started with the Cold War, to regain leadership. This was to go to the Moon. For this reason, NASA created a comprehensive program and entered a race to reach the Moon before the Soviets.The first low-orbit test of the Apollo command and service module (CSM) was scheduled for February 21, 1967. Unfortunately, this test did not go as expected.
On January 27, a cabin fire during a launch rehearsal at Launch Complex 34 at Cape Canaveral AFS destroyed the command module (CM) and resulted in the tragic deaths of all three crew members (these crew members were: Cmdr. Gus Grissom, Cmdr. Ed White, and Cmdr. Roger B. Chaffee). The name “Apollo 1” chosen by the crew was formalized by NASA in their honor after this tragic disaster. Immediately after this disaster, NASA launched a comprehensive investigation to determine the cause of the accident, for which it convened the Apollo 204 Accident Investigation Board. Both chambers of the United States Congress conducted their own committee investigations to oversee NASA’s investigation.
It was determined that the cause of the fire was electrical. The flammable nylon material used and the high-pressure pure oxygen caused the fire to spread rapidly. Due to the pressure in the cabin, the cabin door could not be opened and the crew could not be rescued. Since the rocket used in the test was not fueled, the test was not considered dangerous by the authorities and they did not take sufficient safety precautions and unfortunately this is a painful cost.
(From Left to Right) White, Grissom, Chaffee, The Crew of Apollo 1
Soyuz 1, one of the most tragic results of the desire to break new ground in the space race between the Soviet Union and the United States, went into space with its one-man crew, Colonel Vladimir Mikhailovich Komarov, on April 23, 1967, which caused the first human loss in space flights. This flight, unlike the others, was carried out without any unmanned flight tests and was also the first manned night flight. The flight, which was rushed in time for the birthday of the leader of the period, Vladimir Ilyic Lenin, was carried out with many checks missing. Yuri Gagarin, who was well known to everyone at that time and was the reserve crew member of the flight, expressed his concerns about the flight and made many statements that this flight should not be carried out, but the Soviet Union did not want to lose the lead they had achieved together with Yuri Gagarin in the space race.
Despite many setbacks, Soyuz 1 was intended to be brought down to earth during its first pass over the Soviet Union. Due to a problem in the directional stabilization system, the vehicle could not be steered and was turning uncontrollably. The automatic parachutes of the vehicle entering the atmosphere did not open. Komarov opened the spare parachute manually with all his coolness, but when they got entangled, the accident became unavoidable.
Before the accident occurred on April 24, 1967, Komarov was told over the radio that Mother Russia was proud of him, and the vehicle crashed near the Ural River. After this accident, cosmonaut Komarov was honored with the Soviet Medal of Heroism and the Order of Lenin, and his ashes were buried in the Kremlin Wall.
Due to the disruptions and the resulting accident, the Soyuz 2 launch, which was planned to be carried out while Soyuz 1 was in space, could not be realized and the first space martyr in human history was given.
Soyuz 1 Wreckage
Soyuz 11 is not just an accident, but also a mission that marked a very important development in human space studies. This mission, carried out under the auspices of the Soviet Union, was the first time in history that a manned spacecraft successfully docks with a space station (Salyut 1).Soyuz 11 was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on June 6, 1971. It docked with the Salyut 1 station on June 7, 1971, and the cosmonauts remained at the station for 22 days, conducting successful scientific studies. This was also the record for the longest stay in space at the time. But this successful mission ended with a sad ending.
On June 30, 1971, everything seemed to be going well and the crew’s return journey ended and the authorities opened the capsule door to greet the cosmonauts, but they encountered a horrifying sight. What they saw were the lifeless bodies of the 3 cosmonauts in the crew.
The cause of this accident was a pressure loss during the capsule’s re-entry into the atmosphere during the return, causing a lack of oxygen and the 3 cosmonauts lost their lives by suffocation. These cosmonauts were Georgi Dobrovolski, Viktor Patsayev and Vladislav Volkov.
The date was January 28, 1986 and the world was shocked by an accident.Space Shuttle Challenger exploded in an explosion just 73 seconds after takeoff on its 73rd mission. 7 astronauts lost their lives in this accident. The deceased crew members were Francis R. Scobee, Michael J. Smith, Ronald McNair, Ellison Onizuka, Judith Resnik, Gregory Jarvis, Christa McAuliffe.
The night before the Space Shuttle Challenger was to take off, the air temperature was very low and even some engineers had expressed their opinion that the takeoff should be cancelled. However, this takeoff had already been approved by NASA. Due to the cold, the safety seals, which are part of the space shuttle’s solid fuel rockets, were damaged and the launch ended painfully in front of millions of people with an explosion at the 73rd second of the flight
Explosion of Challenger Space Shuttle
We have come to the beginning of the 21st century and unfortunately, no matter how close we are to the present day, some accidents still happen. On February 1, 2003, an accident occurred during the shuttle mission flight named STS-107. Rick D. Husband, William C. McCool, Michael P. Anderson, Kalpana Chawla, David M. Brown, Laurel Clark, Ilan Ramon.
The shuttle crashed at 16:00, 16 minutes before landing.The cause of the accident was a piece of the main fuel tank that broke off during takeoff and damaged the shuttle’s left wing, causing the shuttle to break up in the atmosphere as it returned to Earth. The US National Aeronautics and Space Administration commemorates the astronauts who lost their lives in this accident every year and does not organize any space events on the anniversary of this accident.
Space flight disasters cause many harms to people, both materially, emotionally and psychologically. Sometimes, no matter how much the authorities can prevent these accidents, they have to be careful and cautious. In this section, we will evaluate the harms of these accidents for humanity and what kind of comments and lessons we can draw from these harms.The point we will obviously first address is the loss of life. In space flights, human intervention is not as easy as in a car or a ship. In most cases, it is very difficult to save the crew in accidents, but it is often impossible. And unfortunately, this can be seen in accidents where there is loss of life. As in previous disasters, in the event of loss of life, we lose both an experienced astronaut who has been trained for a long time, and a tragedy occurs for the astronaut’s family and environment. In these cases, it is not only the family that is affected, but also the trust of people in space research seriously decreases. This situation can pose a
serious obstacle to the continuity of space studies.
Another problem seen after space accidents are financial losses. Space programs prepared by states or especially private companies that have emerged in recent years cause significant expenses. In addition, a significant amount of calculation, quality materials and most importantly technical personnel are required to make parts such as a rocket or shuttle. Financial losses incurred due to space accidents cause this money spent not to reach its purpose. At the same time, when these accidents are reflected badly in the press, the reputation of these researches is greatly shaken.While we are talking about the press, another problem caused by space accidents is that these programs look bad to the public and the public, they give the impression that they are unsafe and carry high risks. In addition, these accidents can also create the impression that the budget allocated for these studies is in vain. In today’s world, there is no way to prevent the press and thought, sometimes even if the best is done, there will always be opponents and opposing views. What needs to be done is to explain a certain part of the studies to the press and the public in general terms within the framework of security measures, and show people the necessity of these studies and their importance. In this way, people can know what they are about these programs and studies and their satisfaction can be achieved. However, in extraordinary situations such as space accidents, the situation is much more complicated. If a reason such as a security breach and inadequate precautions is seen in this accident, public trust in this matter will inevitably be shaken.
What needs to be done is to explain the incident to people and not distort the incident instead of suppressing the objections made or directly blaming the objectors. In this way, the public can be calmed to some extent in these extraordinary situations.One of the problems related to space accidents is the space debris that occurs along with the environmental pollution that occurs after the accidents. Although this problem is not as visible as other problems, it is not a problem that can be ignored. A lot of space debris, such as space debris and expired satellites that accumulate in the orbit of the Earth and in the void of space after space studies pose a threat to humans and the Earth. This debris can enter the atmosphere after a certain period of time and fall to the Earth, harm future space studies and even cause other space accidents in the future. This problem should not be ignored and this possible problem should be discussed and various solution proposals should be prepared.In addition, these space studies are not only about space. Many different nations and nationalities, leaving aside the political views, sects, races, religions and even genders that separate them from each other, work for the common interest of humanity. International problems can also occur in these space accidents.
Several comments can be made about the reasons for this. First of all, astronauts from more than one nation can take part in space programs in addition to a single nation. This turns the problem experienced regarding the safety of astronauts into an international problem, not just a national problem. Another reason is that the goal in space programs is not the financial or military interests of a single nation, as we mentioned before, but concerns all of humanity. For this reason, more than one state can unite and run a joint space program. This can cause an international crisis in the event of a problem experienced regarding this program. Finally, the problem we will address is the occurrence of a problem that will endanger the security of another state other than the state that runs it from a space accident. For example, a rocket sent into space by State A cannot leave the atmosphere completely for various reasons and breaks apart while exiting the atmosphere, and these pieces fall on State B. In such a case, it is almost inevitable that an international crisis will occur between State B and State A. What needs to be done in such cases is that when these international crises occur, the bilateral state to state problem should be negotiated, and these negotiations should even be carried out under the control of some mediator states and should be concluded with a reasonable solution without increasing tension.
Space law comprises a variety of and can be described as the body of law controlling all space-related activities. The term “space law” is frequently referred to as the rules, standards and principles of international law found in the five international treaties and principles governing outer space activities which were created under the auspices of the United Nations. It comprises a variety of international treaties, agreements, conventions and United Nations General Assembly resolutions in addition to rules and regulations set up by international organisations. Many states also have national laws regulating space related activities in addition to these international mechanisms.
A variety of issues are addressed by international space law, including but not limited to the protection of the space and Earth environment, responsibility for harm caused by space objects, dispute resolution of matters concerning space activity, astronaut rescue, the usafe usage of space-related technologies and international collaboration. The conduct of space activities are based on a number of basic principles, including the idea that space belongs to all of humanity, all states are free to explore and use space without discrimination and the principle of non-appropriation of space.
The Outer Space Treaty is a multilateral treaty formed under the auspices of the United Nations. It was opened to signature in the United states, the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union on 27 January 1967 and was implemented on 10 October 1967. It is the treaty on which all international space law is based. As of 2024, 115 countries have become signatories for the treaty- including all major spacefaring nations.
The implementation of the Outer Space treaty was driven by the rapid developments in space technologies including the intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), which could reach targets in outer space and the launch of Sputnik, the first artificial satellite which resulted şn a subsequent arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union. The aforementioned situations prompted proposals to prohibit the use of outer space for military purposes. On 17 October 1963, The U.N. general Assembly unanimously passed a resolution prohibiting the introduction of weapons of mass destruction in outer space. In December 1966, the General Assembly held a session to discuss various ideas for an arms control treaty covering outer space. The Outer Space Treaty was drafted and adopted the following January. The Outer Space Treaty was the first attempt to set an international standard in space activities and it served as a foundation of all space law.
According to the U.N. Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) the core principles of the treaty include the idea that the usage of outer space shall be carried out for the benefit and interests of all mankind and outer space shall be free for exploration and use by all states. The treaty states that outer space shall not be claimed or appropriated by any one state. The placement of nuclear weapons or any other weapon of mass destruction in orbit or on celestial bodies was prohibited alongside the usage of the Moon or other celestial bodies for testing weapons, conducting military maneuvers or establishing military bases. With the Outer Space Treaty, all states were deemed responsible for national space activities whether they were carried out by governmental or non-governmental bodies, for the damage caused by their space objects and the harmful contamination of space and celestial bodies.
The Agreement on the Rescue of Astronauts, the Return of Astronauts and the Return of OBjects Launched into Outer Space, also referred to as the rescue agreement, was considered and negotiated by the Legal Subcommittee from 1962 and 1967. The General Assembly came to a consensus in December 1967 and the Agreement was implemented in December 1968. The agreement further delves into the articles of the Outer Space Treaty on the rescue and asist of astronauts in distress.
The Outer Space Treaty requires that if an astronaut is in distress States shall take all steps in their power in order to rescue and assist them and ensure their arrival back to the launching state as swiftly as possible and that states will assist in the retrieval of space objects if they return to earth outside the territory of the Launching State, upon request.
The Liability Convention was debated on by the Legal Subcommittee between 1963 and 1972. The General Assembly came to a consensus in 1971 and the Convention was implemented in September 1972.
The Convention has defined damage as “loss of life, personal injury or other impairment of health; or loss of or damage to property of States or of persons, natural or juridical, or property of international intergovernmental organisations”. It deems launching states fully liable to compensate for the damages to the Earth or to aircraft flight caused by its space object. If two or more states collaborate on the launching of a space object, the compensation for damages shall also be shared.
The Registration Convention, which was adopted by the General Assembly on 15 September 1976 aims to create a standard for the registration of space objects and to provide procedures to aid in their identification process. This convention deems a standard in identifying space objects necessary for the application and development of international space law.
The convention dictates that launching states are mandated to register each launched space object into an appropriate registry and notify the United Nations Secretary General of the aforementioned registry. The Secretary General shall be provided the name of the launching State or States, the space object’s registration number, its general function and its basic orbital parameters.
The Registration Convention was necessary in order to create a transparent standard for the identification of space objects. This was an important step in preventing misunderstandings and fostering cooperation between nations. As the number of objects in space has grown rapidly in the latter half of the 21st century, tracking these objects became a necessary precaution in order to mitigate risks to space safety. The identification of space objects is also crucial in order to ensure compliance with space laws and conflict resolution between nations.
The moon agreement which was adopted by the General Assembly in 1979 reaffirms and expands upon the articles of the Outer Space Treaty concerning the Moon and other celestial bodies. The agreement limits the usage of these celestial bodies to peaceful purposes. It declares that the moon and its natural resources belong to all of humanity and ensures that the Moon’s natural resources and environment won’t be exploited. It details that if a risk of such resources being exploited arises, an international regime will be established to oversee the exploitation. The agreement also states that if any station is established on these celestial bodies the United Nations should be notified of their purpose and location.
As spaceflight began to grow more and more common, individual states began adopting legislation on national levels. Safety standards and legal procedures are set by almost every space faring nation in order to mitigate the risks during space missions and ensure the safety of individuals.
The first law passed by the United States was the Communications act of 1934, long predating the first spaceflight. The act was meant to govern requirements for commercial satellite operations and to coordinate the use of the radio spectrum.
The National Aeronautics and Space Act, signed by President Eisenhower in 1958, established NASA as well as determining the United States’ Objectives within space exploration: Expanding knowledge, developing and improving space vehicles, studying the benefits of space exploration, preserving the status of the U.S. as a space leader and sharing information and discoveries gained with defense agencies. Since then, the U.S. has passed the Commercial Space Launch Act of 1985 which granted the DEpartment of Transportation oversight of commercial spaceflight for regulatory purposes, which has since been amended and The Land Remote-Sensing Commercialization Act which passed government owned Landsat satellite program to private industry. This act was repealed in 1992 as the transfer to private sector proved problematic and the LAnd REmote-Sensing Policy Act gave the Department of Commerce the power to license the U.S. commercial remote-sensing industry.
The Space Act of 2015 also known as the Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act, was aimed to engage the commercial exploration and exploitation of space, though the act denies that the U.S. claims any sovereignty over Space or any celestial body by this act. The act aimed to encourage commercial space flight by postponing regulatory oversight of private spaceflight companies until 2023 and granted private companies the right to own resources collected in space which included materials from asteroid mining.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration Transition Authorization Act of 2017 focused on the long-term aspects of deep space human exploration such as the growth of the commercial space sector, developments in technology and aeronautics and investments in science. The act emphasizes the importance of NASA continuing its purpose regardless of changes in presidential administrations and includes the TREAT Astronauts Act which ensures that astronauts whose health is affected by space missions receive the necessary medical treatment In the following years the U.S. has also passed the National Defense Authorization Act of 2020 which established the role of the U.S. Space force within the Air Force, identified the place of the Space Force within the chain of command and established their general mission set and composition.
In 2015 the Russian space program was reconstructed in order to integrate both civilian and military activity. The Russian Federal Space Agency was abolished and replaced by the State Corporation for Space Activities (Roscosmos) which implements state policy, legal regulation, international acties, organizes the space industry and collaborates with the Ministry of Defense. In the modern day the Russian Federation is committed to not being the first to place weapons in outer space.
The United Nations General Assembly initially established tje ad hoc Committee on the Peaceful uses of Outer Space 13 DEcember 1958. The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs was first established as a specialized unit inside the UN Secretariat to support this committee. The department became the Outer Space Affairs Division after the it was transferred to work under the Department of Political and Security Council Affair in 1968. In 1992 the division became the Office for Puter Space Affairs within the Department of Political Affairs and it was relocated to the United Nations Office in Vienna in 1993, the Office simultaneously assuming liability for substantive secretariat services to the Legal Subcommittee.
Since its establishment the UNOOSA has been working to foster international cooperation and to ensure the safe and peaceful utilisation and exploration of outer space as well as making sure developing space technologies are used for the benefit of humanity and for the sake of sustainable social and economic growth. The Office aids United Nations Member States in establishing legal and regulatory frameworks to govern and develop space activities.
Historical Start is the period and date that the committee will start since it is a historical committee. Although this date will be clearly stated by the committee secretariat at the beginning of the conference, the committee’s initial period will be in the early stages after the first human space flight.
The acceleration of the space race and tensions between countries will advance this start date with future updates and ensure the historical progress of the committee. Delegates are expected to be informed about the important figures of the period at the beginning of the committee. Sociopolitical situations and tensions between countries at the historical beginning directly affect the course of the committee.
The concept of update has an important role especially for the H-LEGAL (Historical United Nations Office of Legal Affairs Committee) committee, which will have a historical development. These updates, which can direct the progress of the committee and have an important place in shaping solution proposals, are decided by the committee secretariat and follow the committee throughout the process.
Updates are important for the debate flow of the committee and the delegates’ preparations in advance, have information about these updates, which will keep away the committee flow from monotony and will take an important place in the decision-making process, and act accordingly within the committee should be followed by all delegates as stated in the study guide.
Although the contents of the updates are evaluated in a wide range, the updates that stand out in the committee will be space disasters, accidents and unexpected developments, problems in the implementation of existing laws and leaks of public or confidential information. Although the contents of these updates may include historical events, fictional updates can also be found within the committee by the committee secretariat.
If the updates will be based on any historical personality or community, no mass, ideological view or person will be directly targeted, but delegates may be asked to take into account the sociopolitical situation of this person or community. This does not constitute hatred towards any community or person, it is intended to direct, accelerate or revitalize the flow of the committee.
The impact of updates on the committee, as emphasized in the previous paragraphs, is that the committee secretariat directly effects within the committee to regulate the flow and ensure the continuity of the flow at this point. It improves the dynamics in the committee and pushes delegates to develop creative solutions. The short-term uncertainty it creates directly affects the committee’s final document and flow with its long-term effects. Updates are a direct part of the committee’s progress with historical progress and time updates, and since it is a historical committee, time progress will be made in this way.
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Further Reading and Watching:
https://www.bbc.com/reel/video/p0dm6362/vladimir-komarov-the-cosmonaut-who-fell-to-earth