THE NECESSITY OF AN INTERNATIONAL SPACE AGENCY 
IN THE ABSENCE OF LENGTH, CONSIDER THE ENTIRE PAPER AN ENLARGED ABSTRACT. 
KEY WORDS: INTERNATIONAL, COOPERATION, SPACE 
Dave 
While those nations actively. involved in the 
exploration of space may have their own priorities and 
agendas, they are not the sole inhabitants of this 
world. Nor are they the usual source of natural 
resources necessary for the construction of space 
platforms, support equipment, launch sites or other 
variables needed to perform the task of space travel. 
Now that the arms race and the cold war debacle 
are over and most of the surviving arms 
manufacturers are attempting to retool their machinery 
towards peace, much of that existing and newly 
developing technologies can be utilized for the 
peaceful exploration of our own solar system and 
beyond. A few scattered nations and a couple of 
consortiums are all of the international representation 
the entire world has in the direction of going off world 
and exploring beyond our own atmosphere. In 
deference to a particular television program, space is 
not the final frontier. We may have traveled over most 
our little planet, but compared with the rest of the 
universe, we've barely begun the journey. 
What is needed is some form of unity that can only 
come from equality in order to acquire a significant 
quantity of the world's population for this plan to work. 
If those with a program would begin by supporting a 
country or two at the beginning, then others may (one 
hopes) become interested and express a desire to 
join. 
| believe an idea such as this should be 
evaluated by those in the field. Someone from NASA 
External Affairs had replied and stated that | should 
take this idea to the politicians; however, politicians 
aren't the ones who would be implementing the 
project. There's undoubtedly more to it than this, but 
the idea is to make the suggestion to those who would 
be amenable to the prospect of such an undertaking. 
A copy of this paper has been sent to the European 
Space Agency (ESA) and others. 
Actively participating member nations within this 
"International Space Agency' would have voting rights 
dealing with the direction of research, development 
and whatever they particular contribution they have to 
offer. Many of the lesser developed nations may 
hesitate to join into this type of venture since their 
history tends to show that whenever more developed 
nations moved in, the colonial power took everything 
they could and left the newly colonized peoples with 
virtually nothing. It may have been a thing of the past, 
but unfortunately, some cultures possess extremely 
long memories and are very capable of retaining 
grudges for hundreds if not thousands of years. 
84 
KISOR 
That is why all participating nations must be on equal 
footing. History can not be changed, the idea here is 
to show that certain aspects will not be repeated. 
History can not be eradicated, but some would require 
assurance that certain aspects would not be repeated. 
Call me a dreamer, but it's been my 
observation that most people would prefer a job with a 
steady income versus a Civil war with the 
accompanying strife, and perhaps a daily artillery 
barrage. It is far more difficult to incite riots when a 
population is fairly content. If this project works, it 
could create employment in countries where the 
economy has a reputation for being at the lower end of 
the economic scale. Much of the lower technology 
jobs could be performed in developing nations, which 
could give them a head start in becoming a developed 
nation. On a global economic scale, when the lower 
end improves, it tends to reflect on the higher end. 
Isn't it strange how human nature plays into the 
picture? 
Barring any incidents where civilization must 
be rebuilt from ground zero, given the current rate of 
technological advancements, something called high 
tech today will be considered child's play in the near 
future. This would require a fairly massive educational 
effort, but the benefits would far outweigh continuous 
fighting. If only those who constantly fight amongst 
themselves would cease hostilities while off planet. 
Living in orbit or on the moon and farther out is far 
more tenuous and perforce requires considerable 
cooperation for all concerned. 
The more persons and nations actively 
involved in a project of this magnitude, the easier it 
would be for it to take on a life of it's own. Those 
individuals who would otherwise migrate towards a 
developed nation in search of better conditions may 
be tempted to remain home, which would be a relief to 
their own families, their own government and the 
country they would have relocated. Life would be so 
much easier if it could be separated from such 
perversities as economics, but unfortunately it doesn't 
seem to work that way. It is also realized that while 
some governments tend to behave somewhat more 
reprehensible by some, and those truly capable of 
running them would not choose to for love nor money. 
This could be a prime consideration for entry into the 
program. Some may require inducement to change 
some of that particular behavior. 
People have been sailing the oceans of Earth 
ever since the first person floated down stream on a 
log, and probably didn't even know how to swim. If we 
are to survive as a species, then the very least we can 
do is to try to set petty grievances aside and endeavor 
to behave like civilized creatures and attempt some 
form of international cooperation. 
International Archives of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing. Vol. XXXI, Part B6. Vienna 1996 
KEY 
198 
Glo: 
Inde 
jt: 
spi 
RESI 
Le ( 
198 
d'I 
par 
de 
Das 
(Ma 
Glo: 
ein 
Glo: 
stäl