Page:The Air Force Role In Developing International Outer Space Law (Terrill, 1999).djvu/105

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United States policy on research and development on outer space should not at this point be deferred or delayed pending the elaboration of an international agreement on the legal status of outer space or a United States policy on legal aspects.

Space programs should be formulated in scope and in intensity of effort as dictated by (a) military needs and requirements, (b) scientific needs, and (c) commercial needs, where they can be foreseen. It is unwise to insist that military end-uses must be foreseen at the present time in order ultimately to achieve useful military applications.

The United States should publicly welcome and encourage the general idea of international cooperation in scientific and commercial phases of its own space research and development, and should refrain from stressing any predominantly military purposes of space exploration, except as technical advance jeopardizes free world survival.

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