Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09UNVIEVIENNA324
2009-07-08 15:30:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
UNVIE
Cable title:  

BRIEFING TO COPUOS AND SIDE MEETING ON THE

Tags:  MCAP PREL PARM TSPA RS NASA CPUOS CDG 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO5985
RR RUEHSK RUEHSL
DE RUEHUNV #0324/01 1891530
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 081530Z JUL 09
FM USMISSION UNVIE VIENNA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9798
INFO RUCNDSC/DISARMAMENT CONFERENCE COLLECTIVE
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 0923
RUEHRL/AMEMBASSY BERLIN 0882
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 1239
RUEHMO/AMEMBASSY MOSCOW 0991
RUEHOT/AMEMBASSY OTTAWA 0732
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 1095
RUEHPG/AMEMBASSY PRAGUE 0191
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME 0546
RUEHSM/AMEMBASSY STOCKHOLM 0261
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 0779
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 1706
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 0895
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 UNVIE VIENNA 000324 

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

GENEVA FOR CD DEL

C O R R E C T E D C O P Y (GARBLED MSG)

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: MCAP PREL PARM TSPA RS NASA CPUOS CDG
SUBJECT: BRIEFING TO COPUOS AND SIDE MEETING ON THE
SATELLITE COLLISION

REF: A. STATE 58525

B. MOSCOW 556

UNVIE VIEN 00000324 001.2 OF 003


UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 UNVIE VIENNA 000324

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

GENEVA FOR CD DEL

C O R R E C T E D C O P Y (GARBLED MSG)

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: MCAP PREL PARM TSPA RS NASA CPUOS CDG
SUBJECT: BRIEFING TO COPUOS AND SIDE MEETING ON THE
SATELLITE COLLISION

REF: A. STATE 58525

B. MOSCOW 556

UNVIE VIEN 00000324 001.2 OF 003



1. (SBU) On June 9, 2009, Brigadier General Susan Helms,
Director of Plans and Policy, J-5, United States Strategic
Command, briefed the 52nd Session of the Committee on the
Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) on the February 2009
collision of the Iridium 33 and Cosmos 2251 satellites.
Prior to this briefing, the U.S. provided a preview of the
presentation to the Russian delegation as well as to
interested delegation members from NATO and select non-NATO
countries. The U.S. also used the meeting with the Russian
Federation as an opportunity to discuss bilateral cooperation
between the U.S. and Russia on transparency and confidence
building measures (TCBMs) for space activities. All three
briefings were well received and the U.S. was complimented
for its transparency in discussing the collision.

--------------
Briefing to Russian Delegation on Satellite Collision and
Discussion of Space TCBMS
--------------


2. (SBU) On Monday, June 8, 2009, Brigadier General Susan
Helms, Director of Plans and Policy, J-5, United States
Strategic Command, briefed the Russian COPUOS delegation on
the February 2009 collision of the Iridium 33 and Cosmos 2251
satellites. The Russian attendees included Sergey Shestakov,
Head of the Science and Technology Division, Department on
New Challenges and Threats, Ministry of Foreign Affairs;
Anatoly Belinsky, Ministry of Defense; and Alexey Dronov,
Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the
International Organizations in Vienna. Following the U.S.
briefing on the collision, the Russian delegation thanked the
U.S. delegation for its willingness to meet and for their
transparency in sharing the planned presentation for the
COPUOS session. The Russians, key question was why and how
the collision took place. The U.S. answered by saying that
the collision took place because space is becoming
increasingly crowded. General Helms stressed that the

collision could have happened between any two nations and
that our nations need to collaborate to ensure they do not
happen in the future. She stated that the question should
not be what any country did wrong, but rather how to bring
together our resources to prevent a future collision from
happening. Sergey Shestakov stated that the issues involved
with the collision are clear, the problem will be how to
organize our common goals and efforts together. He stated
that the Conference on Disarmament is the correct venue to
discuss military issues as well as other initiatives by the
Russian Federation. Dronov added that in order to start
thinking about collaboration we need to consider the legal
aspects.


3. (SBU) After the dialogue on the collision, Ken Hodgkins,
Director of OES/SAT, began a discussion on bilateral
cooperation between the U.S. and Russia on space TCBMs.
Hodgkins stated that we are currently seeking cooperation
with Russia on military-to-military workplans; a joint
resolution on TCBMs; the issues involved in the Russian March
2009 non-paper on the collision and TCBMs; and the work
currently being done in COPUOS (such as the new agenda item
on the long term sustainability of space activities). The
U.S. indicated its desire to determine if U.S.-Russian
workplans signed in 2006 and 2007 are still relevant and
questioned what it will take to expand the workplans to a
multilateral level. The U.S. pointed out that it provides a
great deal of data to the international community, but it
would like to consider what Russia may be able to provide to
supplement this data. Lt Col Myland Pride, from the Joint
Staff, explained the specifics of the 2006 and 2007 workplans
(and later provided these documents to Dronov). Hodgkins
added that there is a need to educate all nations on why
better space surveillance would be advantageous. Shestakov
agreed with U.S. suggestions on cooperation and stated that

UNVIE VIEN 00000324 002.2 OF 003


there is a need for bilateral consultations between the U.S.
and Russia. He added that we should continue this dialogue
with a specialized expert meeting on the topic and
potentially form a working group. He was pleased that the
discussion began in Vienna and felt this meeting was a &very
constructive8 beginning. Later that week, the U.S. handed
over to Shestakov a list of questions for consideration by
the Russian Federation (found in REF A) in response to the
Russian March 5, 2009, non-paper (REF B).

--------------
Briefing to Allies on Satellite Collision
--------------


4. (SBU) On Tuesday, June 9, 2009, the General Helms briefed
approximately 25 delegates from at least 16 NATO and select
non-NATO countries on the satellite collision. Attendees
represented Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany,
Hungary, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal,
Romania, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, and the United Kingdom.
The presentation was well received and various delegates
stated that it was beneficial in raising awareness of the
issue. The attendees appeared engaged during the
presentation and asked thoughtful questions.


5. (U) The following questions were asked:
-Can we reduce the amount of space debris currently in space?
-Is it possible to determine whose debris is whose following
a collision?
-Is it possible to design satellites so that they dissolve
after life?
-Is it standard practice to put satellites in graveyard
orbits?
-What is the critical part of tracking satellites to prevent
collisions?
-Was there exchange of information with Russia following the
collision?
-To what extent is monitoring by various countries up to date
and is there is a mechanism for collaboration on such
monitoring?
-Is it possible to identify whose debris is whose following a
collision?
-Can we calculate the lifetime of the debris created by this
collision?
-In the case of a predicted collision, are there rules on
which satellite should maneuver if both satellites are
maneuverable?


6. (SBU) The U.S. delegation thoroughly answered each
question, stressing the need for increased international
cooperation, and the delegates seemed satisfied with the
responses. Of particular note was the discussion on the
&chain of custody8 of debris following a collision. The
U.S. explained that each piece of debris created that is
large enough to track will have its own orbital signature
traceable back to the parent object. The U.S. added that
although the assignment of liability for debris-caused damage
to satellites will become an increasingly complex issue, it
is important to focus on managing the problem of collisions,
rather than the legal question of who owns each of the
pieces. During the question and answer period, the delegate
from the Czech Republic noted that the fact that the U.S.
voluntarily provided the briefing showed transparency that
has not been demonstrated by other spacefaring nations.

--------------
Briefing to COPUOS on the Satellite Collision
--------------


7. (U) On Tuesday, June 9, 2009, General Helms, briefed the
52nd Session of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer
Space (COPUOS) on the collision of the Iridium 33 and Cosmos
2251 satellites. Upon completion, General Helms received a
genuinely warm response. In addition, Ciro Arevalo, the
current Chairman of COPUOS, complimented her presentation,

UNVIE VIEN 00000324 003.3 OF 003


and praised the U.S. for its transparency in bringing this
issue forward. Following her briefing, Nicholas Johnson,
NASA,s Chief Scientist for Orbital Debris at Johnson
Spaceflight Center, gave a presentation on the space debris
created of the satellite collision, which was also well
received.


8. (U) During the question and answer session, a delegate
from Brazil brought up a U.S. Congressional hearing where
commercial and industry representatives stated that data
distribution is not complete. In response, General Helms
discussed the importance of international collaboration to
share data and the need for an integrated approach. A Greek
delegate complemented the U.S. for giving the presentation,
and that, as an astronaut, General Helms was the perfect
person to share this presentation. He stated his opinion
that nation-states should not have authority in space based
on domestic law, but rather all space rules and laws should
fall under international regimes. The Indian delegate asked
whether the full database of all 19,000 objects was made
available by the United States. General Helms discussed
space-track.org and stated that information on the 19,000
space objects could be found there. The Venezuelan delegate
said that the satellite collision sheds light on the need for
the legal subcommittee to take up the issue of creating
binding space debris mitigation guidelines. Chairman Arevalo
noted that the current space debris mitigation guidelines
were adopted as a result of years of arduous work. A Chinese
delegate stated that China has no intent to weaponize space
and would like to prevent an arms race in space.
PYATT