25 years safety and rescue symposia - Overview. Have we made a difference?
- Paper ID
IAF-92-0374
- author
- company
SAR-ASSIST
- country
United Kingdom
- year
1992
- abstract
The stepping stones are traced from birth of the IAA Committee on Space Rescue to present-day, 25 years later. The scope of the Synposium was extended, successively, from that of SPACE RESCUE to SAFETY AND RESCUE; and from CREW RESCUE AND SPACECRAFT RETRIEVAL FOLLOWING EARTH-SURFACE TOUCHDOWN to WORLDWIDE DISTRESS AND DISASTER RESPONSE, with benchmarks made on bringing to fruition satellite-aided search and rescue responding to terrestrial distress (COSPAS/SARSAT) , and to SPACE APPLICATIONS FOR DISASTER RESPONSE. In later years, a Symposium addressing SPACE ACTIVITIES IMPACT ON ENVIRONMENT was initiated, with a principal focus on man-made space debris. In 1991, a subcommittee on Quality and an Ad Hoc Expert Group on Space Debris were established. Its 25th-year contributions and influence are evident in the Committee's organizational involvement across the IAA/IAF/COSPAR sessions at the 1992 World Space Congress.