The Cold War, the Space Race, and the Law of Outer Space: Space for Peace tells the story of one of the United Nations’ most enduring and least known achievements: the adoption of five multilateral treaties that compose the international law of outer space. The story begins in 1957 during the International Geophysical Year, the largest ever cooperative scientific endeavor that resulted in the launch of Sputnik. Although satellites were first launched under the auspices of peaceful scientific cooperation, the potentially world-ending implications of satellites and the rockets that carried them was obvious to all. By the 1960s, the world faced the prospect of nuclear testing in outer space, the placement of weapons of mass destruction in orbit, and the militarization of the moon. This book tells the story of how the United Nations tried to seize the promise of peace through scientific cooperation and to ward off the potential for war in the Space Age through the adoption of the Outer Space Treaty, the Rescue and Return Agreement, the Liability Convention, the Registration Convention, and the Moon Agreement. Interdisciplinary in approach, the book will be of interest to scholars in law, history and other fields who are interested in the Cold War, the Space Race, and outer space law.

Chronicles the epic race to the moon between the United States and the Soviet Union, discussing both countries' space exploration programs, the scientists and political leaders involved, and the key achievements and disasters of both.

The Other Space Race is a unique look at the early U.S. space program and how it both shaped and was shaped by politics during the Cold War. Eisenhower’s “New Look” expanded the role of the Air Force in national security, and ultimately allowed ambitious aerospace projects, namely the “Dyna-Soar,” a bomber equipped with nuclear weapons that would operate in space. Eisenhower’s space policy was purely practical, creating a strong deterrent against the use of nuclear arms against the United States. With the Soviet launch of Sputnik in 1957, the political climate changed, and space travel became part of the United States’ national discourse. Sambaluk explores what followed, including the scuttling of the “Dyna-Soar” program and the transition from Eisenhower’s space policy to John Kennedy’s. This well-argued, well-researched book gives much needed perspective on the Cold War’s influence on space travel and it’s relation to the formation of public policy.

Offers an account of the competitive technological and political race between the United States and the Soviet Union and their leaders to launch satellites.

"Historically, strategic restraint was the dominant approach among nations active in outer space, all of whom understood that continued access to and use of space required holding back on threats or activities which might jeopardize the status quo of peace in space. However, recently there has been a discernible shift in international rhetoric towards a more offensive approach to defense in space. The U.S. move towards establishing a "Space Force" has been echoed by similar announcements in France and Japan. India launched an anti-satellite weapon test and announced proudly that it thereby joined the elite group of China, Russia and the U.S., who have all demonstrated this capability in the past. And as technologies in space advance, along with our terrestrial dependence on space-based systems for our peaceful civilian lives and for support of terrestrial warfare, the political stability of this vulnerable environment comes under threat. These factors, combined with a lack of transparency about actual capabilities and intentions on the part of all major players in space, creates a cyclical escalation which has led some commentators to describe this as a return to a Cold War-type arms race, and to the foreseeability of a space-based conflict. Due to many unique characteristics of the space domain, an armed conflict in space would be catastrophic for all players, including neutral States, commercial actors, and international civil society. Due to the specificity of the space domain, specialized expertise must be provided to decision-makers, and interdisciplinary opinions must be sought from a multitude of stakeholders. To that end, this volume provides a wide spectrum of perspectives from experts who have engaged together at a conference hosted by the Center for Ethics in the Rule of Law to discuss these issues. Ethical, legal and policy solutions are offered here by those with experience in the space sector, including academia, legal practitioners, military lawyers and operators, diplomats and policy advisors"--

"The story of the race into space is marked by the greatest superpower rivalries, political paranoia, and technological feats of the twentieth century. But until now, we have only known half the story. With the end of the Cold War, a generation of secrets and cover-ups has been revealed, bringing a historic opportunity: the unmasking of the true heroes and villains behind the biggest race of mankind." "In this fast-paced account, Deborah Cadbury pits the Americans' chief rocket designer, ex-Nazi Wernher von Braun, hurriedly white-washed by the US to lead the way, against the obscure Russian engineer Sergei Korolev - a genius known only as the 'Chief Designer' - whose story has long remained a mystery. Both were men of their times, but with visions that were timeless. And both were prepared to go to extraordinary lengths to see the fulfilment of their dreams." "Von Braun had almost limitless funds and the best minds that could be sourced from the entire globe. Korolev had a budget so tight that initially his engineers used cardboard boxes as drafting tables. They both sent astronauts into space not knowing for sure whether they would ever be seen again. The world watched as the American and Soviet teams, impervious to disaster, took the fight for the coveted prize right up to the wire - but there could only be one winner." "Deborah Cadbury, in this book, combines sheer adventure and nail-biting suspense with a moving portrayal of the human dimension to this epic struggle. Using source materials never before seen, she tells the story of the Cold War, of espionage and ambition, of ingenuity, passion, and the final, mind-bending voyage beyond the bounds of the Earth."--BOOK JACKET.