Rescue Agreement (1968)
A United Nations treaty that requires states to assist crews in distress and to return space objects that land on their territory, at the launching authority's expense for the objects.
The 1967 Outer Space Treaty declared astronauts envoys of mankind without saying who does what when a crew lands somewhere unplanned or when an object falls on another state's territory. The 1968 agreement turns that principle into specific duties: notify the launching authority and the UN Secretary-General, assist the crew, return them promptly, then recover and return the space object if the launching authority asks. Its Article 5 makes the launching authority bear the expenses of recovering and returning the object, and requires a state receiving a hazardous object to take steps to eliminate the danger. Its limit is well known to space lawyers: no article provides for reimbursing the rescue of the crew itself, or any cleanup. For insurance purposes, the text therefore defines a layer of expenses that falls on the operator, separate from the liability for damage that the 1972 convention organizes.
Adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 19, 1967 (Resolution 2345 (XXII)), the agreement was opened for signature on April 22, 1968 and entered into force on December 3, 1968. It is the second of the five UN space treaties, after the 1967 Outer Space Treaty and before the 1972 Liability Convention.
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