US embassy cable - 05OTTAWA1627

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