Wpływ zimnej wojny na ukształtowanie i rozwój międzynarodowego prawa kosmicznego

Abstract

The beginning of the Cold War took place with the collapse of the anti-Hitler coalition in 1945, and the conflict itself lasted until the collapse and disintegration of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in 1991. The Cold War arms race was a manifestation of the multifaceted rivalry between East and West. One sphere of conflict was the space race. The apogee of the space race occurred between 1957 and 1985. With the launch of the first artificial satellite “Sputnik 1” in 1957 by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics into orbit around the Earth, efforts to conquer space began. The main research objective of this article is to answer the question of how the Cold War influenced the formation and development of international space law. The author will also provide answers to specific research questions, such as: How was the space policy of the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics shaped during the Cold War? What legal matter was regulated in acts of international space law during the Cold War period? How did the norms and principles of international space law introduced during the Cold War period affect relations between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics? To verify the main research objective and research questions, the author used the dogmatic-legal method to systematize the international legal norms governing space activity during the Cold War conflict. The main sources used in the article are the international conventions developed on the grounds of the United Nations, data containing summaries of the most important space missions in the period from 1957 to 1985, and the body of doctrine of international space law from the Cold War era.