USG PROPOSED UN COPUOS STSC SPACE DEBRIS

UNCLAS OTTAWA 001627 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: TSPA AORC UNGA SUBJECT: USG PROPOSED UN COPUOS STSC SPACE DEBRIS MITIGATION GUIDELINES REF: SECSTATE 90961 ¶1. ESTH Counselor discussed proposed guidelines transmitted in reftel with Doug Altworth of the Science and Technology Division of International Trade Canada. Altworth said that the Canadian Government is still reviewing the proposed guidelines and has not yet had consultations with industry contacts. With that caveat, he told ESTH Counselor that the GOC would be supportive of the work that had been done by the U.S. He noted that the GOC would have a number of suggestions to make at the meeting to improve the guidelines, such as including launches in the category of activities that could create debris and refining the definition of long-lived debris. But he characterized these issues as "nibbling at the edges" rather than any fundamental problem with the draft. ¶2. One issue that is important to the GOC, according to Altworth, is the timetable for approval and adoption of the guidelines. He said the GOC is not prepared to support approval of the guidelines at the upcoming COPUOS meeting, due to the need for further industry consultations. Visit Canada's Classified Web Site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/ottawa DICKSON