Space Foundation Addresses United Nations on Uses of Outer Space

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Jun. 12, 2002) — Space Foundation president and chief executive officer Elliot G. Pulham urged the United Nations this week to continue to work to promote the exploration, development and utilization of space by all nations. Speaking before the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space at their annual meetings in Vienna, Pulham urged the member nations to be ever mindful of not just the scientific and technical benefits of space exploration, but also of the human benefits as well. Acknowledging “the great benefits of knowledge and technology” that space exploration has given to society, Pulham urged the international body to embrace space exploration “not so much for its technology, but rather for its humanity.” “The exploration of space is, at its core, a quest for the answer to the oldest questions of our human existence,” Pulham said. “This has profound significance for the remit of the United Nations.” The full text of Pulham’s speech can be found at www.spacefoundation.org in “community events.” The United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space meets annually at the UN’s Vienna International Center facility and focuses its work on the major international treaties and conventions pertaining to the use of outer space. Active in space policy matters in Washington, D.C., the Space Foundation is a member of the U.S. delegation to the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space. The Space Foundation organizes the International Space Symposium – which will be held September 10-13 in Toulouse, France, and conducts the National Space Symposium, known as the space industry’s most important annual event. The Foundation also hosts education programs around the country. For more information on the Space Foundation, visit www.spacefoundation.org or call 1-800-691-4000.