In 1962, UN Resolution 1721B (XVI) required member States of the UN to register objects launched into space. This was a move to reduce tensions and alleviate the fear that the US or the USSR would place weapons in orbit. The resolution was complemented in 1976 when the UN drew up the Convention on Registration of Objects Launched into Outer Space.
Registration documents submitted to the United Nations under the provisions of UN Resolution 1721B (XVI) and article IV of the 1976 Convention on Registration of Objects Launched into Outer Space are published as two series of United Nations documents (UNO 1962, UNO 1977), which are not widely available and in which the information is scattered and hard to find. In the 1990s I (McDowell 1994, with revisions through 2011, http://planet4589.org/space/un/un.html) compiled an edited version of the information in the Registration documents which corrects the above mentioned errors and arranges the information in a systematic way, carefully distinguishing between information included in the registrations and information gained from other sources. Since then, the UN Office of Outer Space Affairs has generated a public database which addresses a similar need ( http://www.oosa.unvienna.org/oosa/en/SORegister/index.html)
Since 1962, most space payloads have been duly registered with the UN. (The USSR retrospectively registered its pre-1962 payloads, while the US did not.) However, a number have not been registered, in violation of Resolution 1721B. Here (Table 1) I summarize the situation for launches for the period from the beginning of 1980 to the end of 2011 using the data from my edited version of the Registry, which covers documents published up to late 2011 (ST/SG/SER.E/629 and A/AC.105/INF.421).
Things are confusing for payloads launched by one state on behalf of another. The legal language of "launching state" is defined in Article I of the Convention as either "(i) A State which launches or procures the launching of a space object;" or "(ii) A State from whose territory or facility a space object is launched". Usually and traditionally it has been the payload owner country, not the launching state country, which does the registration. The United States occasionally registers payloads which it launched but which belong to another country, but this is not done in any systematic way. In these cases I have considered the payload to be a United States payload unless it was subsequently re-registered by another state. 10 of the French payloads belonged to ESRO, and several to EUTELSAT. Until 1981 the USA registered all INTELSAT payloads, since INTELSAT has its headquarters in the USA. Since 1981, it has omitted all these payloads. It can be seen that almost 10 percent of US payloads since 1980 are unregistered. China also has a bad record, since it only began registering launches a few years ago. Japan has a good score but it recently missed a few launches. Since the first edition, Canada and France registered all of their missing satellites; this began an overall improvement in compliance, as Spain and Korea registered their outstanding satellites in 1996 and other countries followed. Germany has also registered some of its outstanding satellites but not others (it's also a bit odd that the second CRISTA-SPAS flight was registered by the USA and not Germany). The US has registered a few of the Space Shuttle flights it forgot earlier, but a couple of classified satellites remain unacknowledged, and some of its registered satellites did not include orbital data, or included orbital data which were manifestly spurious, in violation of Article IV of the Convention.
There are a number of difficult and arguable cases. I recently discovered that the UN and the European Center for Space Law have indeed discussed this issue, see these links.
The tradition that "launching state" is to be interpreted as "owner state" is now being challenged by some states. Although The UK has acknowledged (ST/SG/SER.E/417) the existence of the Inmarsat satellites, but denies it is the 'launching state' or 'state of registry' for the purposes of the convention, despite the fact that it obviously should be. Since it was doing the ITU filings for Intelsat (Bermuda) Ltd., it should be doing the UN filings for them too. INMARSAT was an intergovernmental organization at the time but unlike ESA did not establish its own registry. In earlier cases, registrations for intergovernmental organizations were carried out by their headquarters host state until a specific registry was established.
Similarly (A/AC.105/806), the Netherlands has denied `state of registry' responsibility for satellites owned by the New Skies company located in that country. Although the documents in question don't spell out who they think should register those satellites, the implication seems to be that it should be the state which carries out the launch services (itself potentially rather unclear to define - e.g. in the case of Sea Launch missions).
Giving credence to these objections, I have reassigned those specific satellites to the states which did actually launch them (on the grounds that if they didn't want responsibility they should have made sure someone else did). I note that Article II says "Where there are two or more launching States in respect of any such space object, they shall jointly determine which one of them shall register the object". This is apparently being ignored. Further, Article VII says that states which are members of intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) are meant to make sure that the IGO sets up its own registry with the UN. This Article was also ignored in the cases of Intelsat and Inmarsat.
The state most affected by this change is France, which registers Ariane launches. Several NSS and Inmarsat satellites spurned by the Netherlands and the UK were launched on Ariane, but were (naturally) omitted from the very comprehensive French filings. I'm adding them to the list of unregistered French satellites, but I welcome suggestions for a more appropriate assignment consistent with Articles I, II and VII.
Some states register all their space objects, while others register only `payloads' - objects which perform a useful function, as opposed to empty rocket stages and space debris. In principle it would be nice if everyone registered all objects, since the purpose of the convention is to prevent hiding of payloads, which could be done by concealing them as apparently nonfunctional craft. However for the time being I am only including in this report objects thought to be payloads.
Even here there is, of course, ambiguity. Of the circa 6500 satellites considered here, 52 are special cases in this respect:
| Payload element | Int'l Desig. | UN Registered | Mass (tonnes) |
|---|---|---|---|
| FGB (Zarya) | 1998-67A | SER.E/614 | 20 |
| NOD1 (Unity) +PMA1/PMA2 | 1998-069F | SER.E/418 | 12 |
| SM (Zvezda) | 2000-37A | SER.E/384 | 21 |
| LAB1 (Destiny) | 2001-006B | SER.E/392 | 14 |
| Canadarm-2 | [2001-016] | SER.E/489 | 2 |
| AL1 (Quest) | [2001-028] | SER.E/614 | 6 |
| SO1 (Pirs) | [2001-041] | SER.E/405 | 4 |
| NOD2 (Harmony) | [2007-050] | SER.E/614 | 14 |
| COL1 (Columbus) | [2008-005] | SER.E/591 | 12 |
| JLM (Kibo ELM-PS) | [2008-009] | SER.E/556 | 9 |
| JPM (Kibo PM) | [2008-027] | SER.E/556 | 15 |
| JEM-EF (Kibo EF) | [2009-038] | SER.E/629 | 4 |
| MIM2 (Poisk) | [2009-060] | (SER.E/593?) | 7 |
| NOD3 (Tranquility) | [2010-004] | SER.E/614 | 15 |
| MIM1 (Rassvet) | [2010-019] | SER.E/626 | 10 |
| PMM (Leonardo) | [2011-008] | - | 12 |
| ITS Z1 | [2000-062] | - | 9 |
| PMA-3 | [2000-062] | - | 2 |
| ITS P6 | [2000-078] | - | 12 |
| ITS S0 | [2002-018] | - | 11 |
| MBS | [2002-028] | SER.E/489 | 2 |
| ITS S1 | [2002-047] | - | 13 |
| ITS P1 | [2002-052] | - | 12 |
| ITS P3/P4 | [2006-036] | - | 16 |
| ITS P5 | [2006-055] | - | 2 |
| ITS S3/S4 | [2007-024] | - | 16 |
| ITS S5 | [2007-035] | - | 2 |
| ITS S6 | [2009-012] | - | 14 |
| ELC-1 | [2009-062] | SER.E/615 | 6 |
| ELC-2 | [2009-062] | SER.E/615 (with ELC-1) | 6 |
| ELC-4 | [2011-008] | - | 6 |
| ELC-3 | [2011-020] | - | 6 |
| AMS-2 | [2011-020] | - | 7 |
In Table 2 I list all the satellites launched since 1962 which have not been registered with the UN, together with the name of the UN member state which I believe should now register them. In most cases the failure to register was due to adminstrative oversight, or confusion as to which state should be the registrant, and it is to be hoped that the states in question will retrospectively register the satellites in Table 2. The states with the most unregistered satellites launched prior to 2010 Dec 31 are the USA, the People's Republic of China and the United Kingdom. Bravo to the Federal Republic of Germany, which was also mentioned as a major offender in the early editions of this list but is now one of the states most in compliance.
Satellites launched in 2011 are tabulated separately; since the diplomatic world has apparently not yet entered the age of instant communication and still grinds slowly, we can't consider the 2011 satellites to be delinquent yet.
I welcome comments and criticisms; please contact me at planet4589@gmail.com
Code Launching State Number of payloads
1957-2010 2011 1957-2011
registered registered registered
yes no total yes no yes no total
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SU Soviet Union 2732 22 2754 0 0 2732 22 2754
US United States of America 2031 88 2119 28 1 2059 89 2148
RU Russian Federation 575 8 583 15 8 590 16 606
CN The People's Republic of China 145 24 169 19 0 164 24 188
J Japan 151 6 157 4 0 155 6 161
F France 105 5 110 17 2 123 6 129
UK United Kingdom 48 4 52 0 1 48 5 53
IN India 52 0 52 7 0 59 0 59
I-ESA European Space Agency 51 3 54 0 3 51 6 57
D Federal Republic of Germany 46 9 55 0 0 46 9 55
CA Canada 29 2 31 0 0 29 2 31
I Italy 18 7 25 1 0 19 7 26
SA Saudi Arabia 12 11 23 0 1 12 12 24
L Luxembourg 16 1 17 2 0 18 1 19
IL Israel 2 11 13 0 1 2 12 14
BR Brazil 12 2 14 1 0 13 2 15
AU Australia 12 1 13 0 0 12 1 13
S Sweden 12 0 12 0 0 12 0 12
KR Korea 12 0 12 0 0 12 0 12
E Spain 9 3 12 0 0 9 3 12
ID Indonesia 5 7 12 0 0 5 7 12
MX The United Mexican States 7 0 7 1 0 8 0 8
AR Argentina 5 2 7 0 1 5 3 8
TW Republic of China 0 8 8 0 0 0 8 8
TR Turkey 5 1 6 1 0 6 1 7
T Thailand 1 6 7 0 0 1 6 7
CZ Czechoslovakia/Czech R 6 0 6 0 0 6 0 6
MY Malaysia 6 0 6 0 0 6 0 6
UA Ukraine 3 1 4 1 1 4 2 6
N Norway 0 6 6 0 0 0 6 6
UAE United Arab Emirates 4 0 4 1 0 5 0 5
I-EUM Eumetsat 4 0 4 0 0 4 0 4
DK Denmark 1 3 4 0 0 1 3 4
EG Egypt 1 3 4 0 0 1 3 4
CL Chile 2 0 2 1 0 3 0 3
PK Pakistan 1 1 2 1 0 2 1 3
NG Nigeria 1 0 1 0 2 1 2 3
IR Iran 0 2 2 0 1 0 3 3
SG Singapore 0 1 1 0 2 0 3 3
MU Mauritius 0 2 2 0 1 0 3 3
DZ Algeria 2 0 2 0 0 2 0 2
KZ Kazakhstan 1 0 1 1 0 2 0 2
NL The Netherlands 0 2 2 0 0 0 2 2
ZA South Africa 2 0 2 0 0 2 0 2
CH Swiss Confederation 0 2 2 0 0 0 2 2
PH Phillipines 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 1
GR Greece 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 1
VE Venezuela 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 1
P Portugal 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 1
MA Morocco 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 1
CO Colombia 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 1
VN Vietnam 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 1
PL Poland 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
BY Belarus 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
AZ Azerbaijan
AT Austria
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tot 6516
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Launching International Name Launch Date State Designation Argentina 1990-05G LUSAT 1990 Jan 22 Argentina 2007-01D Peheuensat 1 2007 Jan 10(b) Australia
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Launching International Name Launch Date State Designation Australia 1992-90A Optus B2 1992 Dec 21 [Note added 1995 Jan 27: this satellite was destroyed on launch, but some debris reached orbit, including the US-built Star 63F perigee kick motor. Possibly this object should have been registered by the US.](c) Brazil
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Launching International Name Launch Date State Designation Brazil 1990-05E DOVE 1990 Jan 22 Brazil 1998-60A SCD-2 1998 Oct 23(d) Canada
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Launching International Name Launch Date State Designation Canada 2009-09A Telstar 11N 2009 Feb 26 Canada 2009-50A Nimiq 5 2009 Sep 17(e) China, People's Republic
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Launching International Name Launch Date State Designation China 1975-70A JSSW 1975 Jul 26 China 1975-119A JSSW 1975 Dec 16 China 1976-87A JSSW 1976 Aug 30 China 1981-93A Shi Jian 2 1981 Sep 19 China 1981-93B Shi Jian 2A 1981 Sep 19 China 1981-93C Shi Jian 2B 1981 Sep 19 China 1990-59B Dummy satellite 1990 Jul 16 China 1990-81B Atmosphere 1 1990 Sep 3 China 1990-81C Atmosphere 2 1990 Sep 3 China 1994-10B Kua Fu 1994 Feb 8 China 1998-33A Zhongwei 1 1998 May 30 China 1999-61E Orbit module 1999 Nov 19 China 2001-01C Orbit module 2001 Jan 9 China 2002-14C Orbit module 2002 Mar 25 China 2002-61C Orbit module 2002 Dec 29 China 2003-45G Orbit module 2003 Oct 15 China 2004-12B Naxing 1 2004 Apr 18 China 2006-35A SJ-8 2006 Sep 9 China 2007-19 Zheda Pixing 2007 May 25 China 2008-47G BX-1 2008 Sep 25 China 2008-47H SZ-7 OM 2008 Sep 25 China 2010-09B YG 9 SS 2010 Mar 5 China 2010-09C YG 9 SS 2010 Mar 5(f) European Space Agency
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Launching International Name Launch Date State Designation ESA 1993-73B Meteosat 6 1993 Nov 20 ESA 1997-61 Huygens 1997 Oct 15 ESA 1997-66C YES 1997 Oct 30(f) Colombia
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Launching International Name Launch Date State Designation Colombia 2007-12M Libertad 2007 Apr 17(h) France
FRANCE 1991-84B Inmarsat II F3 1991 Dec 16 (Denied by UK) FRANCE 1992-21B Inmarsat II F4 1992 Apr 15 (Denied by UK) FRANCE 1997-27A Inmarsat III F4 1997 Jun 4 (Denied by UK) FRANCE 1998-06B Inmarsat III F5 1998 Feb 4 (Denied by UK) France 2002-19A NSS 7 2002 Apr 16 (denied by Netherlands) France 2002-57A NSS 6 2002 Dec 17 (denied by Netherlands)(h) Germany, Federal Republic of
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Launching International Name Launch Date State Designation Germany 1970-17A WIKA 1970 Mar 10 Germany 1988-51B Amsat-Oscar-13 1988 Jun 15 Germany - EXPRESS 1995 Jan 15 Germany 2000-39C RUBIN 2000 Jul 15 Germany 2002-54C RUBIN-3-DSI 2002 Nov 28 Germany 2003-42B RUBIN-4-DSI 2003 Sep 27 Germany 2007-53B RUBIN-7-AIS 2007 Nov 1 Germany 2008-21K RUBIN-8 2008 Apr 28 Germany 2009-51F RUBIN-9.1/RUBIN-9.2 2009 Sep 23 Note: EXPRESS was not given an international designation, but made several orbits of the Earth before landing in Ghana. It was launched by Japan but Germany's DLR led the project and, I believe, owned the satellite (I erroneously had this in the Japanese list in previous editions.) The requirement to register with the UN is independent of the existence of an international designation.(i) Indonesia
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Launching International Name Launch Date State Designation Indonesia 1983-59C Palapa B1 1983 Jun 18 Indonesia 1984-11D Palapa B2 1984 Feb 3 Indonesia 1987-29A Palapa B2P 1987 Mar 20 Indonesia 1992-27A Palapa B4 1992 May 14 Indonesia 1996-06A Palapa C1 1996 Feb 1 Indonesia 2007-01A LAPAN-TUBSAT 2007 Jan 10(j) Israel
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Launching International Name Launch Date State Designation Israel 1990-27A Offeq-2 1990 Apr 3 Israel 1996-30B Amos 1 1996 May 16 Israel 1998-43D Techsat 1998 Jul 10 Israel 2000-79A EROS A1 2000 Dec 5 Israel 2002-25A Offeq-5 2002 May 28 Israel 2003-59A Amos 2 2003 Dec 27 Israel 2006-14A EROS B 2006 Apr 25 Israel 2007-25A Ofeq 7 2007 Jun 10(k) Italy
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Launching International Name Launch Date State Designation Italy 1988-26A San Marco 5 1988 Mar 25 Italy 1992-70B Lageos 2 1992 Oct 22 Italy 1993-61F Itamsat 1993 Sep 26 ITALY 1996-12B TSS 1R 1996 Feb 22 Italy 2000-57C Unisat 2000 Sep 26 Italy 2002-58D Unisat 2 2002 Dec 20 Italy 2004-25H Unisat 3 2004 Jun 29(l) Japan
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Launching International Name Launch Date State Designation Japan 1980-18A Ayame-2 1980 Feb 22 Japan 1990-07B Hagoromo 1990 Jun 24 Japan 2001-29B BSAT-2b 2001 Jul 12 Japan 2004-07A MBSAT 2004 Mar 13 Japan 2006-05B Solar Sail Subpayload 2006 Feb 21 Japan 2006-41D Solar Sail Subpayload 2006 Sep 22(n) Luxembourg
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Launching International Name Launch Date State Designation Luxembourg 2002-53A Astra 1K 2002 Nov 25(o) Mexico
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Launching International Name Launch Date State Designation [all registered 2014](c) Morocco
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Launching International Name Launch Date State Designation Morocco 2001-56D Maroc-Tubsat 2001 Dec 10(p) Netherlands
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Launching International Name Launch Date State Designation Netherlands 1974-70A ANS 1974 Aug 30 Netherlands 2008-21G DELFI C3 2008 Apr 28(q) Pakistan
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Launching International Name Launch Date State Designation Pakistan 1990-59A BADR-A 1990 Jul 16(r) Portugal
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Launching International Name Launch Date State Designation Portugal 1993-61D POSAT 1993 Sep 26(s) Saudi Arabia
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Launching International Name Launch Date State Designation Saudi Arabia 1985-15A Arabsat 1A 1985 Feb 8 Saudi Arabia 1985-48C Arabsat 1B 1985 Jun 18 Saudi Arabia 1992-10B Arabsat 1C 1992 Feb 26 Saudi Arabia 1996-40B Arabsat 2A 1996 Jul 9 Saudi Arabia 1996-63A Arabsat 2B 1996 Nov 13 Saudi Arabia 1999-09A Arabsat 3A 1999 Feb 26 Saudi Arabia 2006-06A Arabsat 4A 2006 Feb 28 Saudi Arabia 2006-51A Arabsat 4AR 2006 Nov 8 Saudi Arabia 2008-34B Badr 6 2008 Jul 7 Saudi Arabia 2010-25A Badr 5 2010 Jun 3 Saudi Arabia 2010-32A Arabsat 5A 2010 Jun 26(t) Spain
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Launching International Name Launch Date State Designation Spain 2004-31A Amazonas 2004 Aug 4 Spain 2006-07A Spainsat 2006 Mar 11 Spain 2009-41E Nanosat 1B 2009 Jul 29 Spain 2009-54A Amazonas 2 2009 Oct 1 Spain 2010-70A Hispasat 1E 2010 Dec 29(u) Thailand
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Launching International Name Launch Date State Designation Thailand 1993-78B Thaicom 1 1993 Dec 18 Thailand 1994-65B Thaicom 2 1994 Oct 8 Thailand 1997-16B Thaicom 3 1997 Apr 16 Thailand 1998-43C TM-SAT 1998 Jul 10 Thailand 2005-28A Thaicom 4 2005 Aug 11 Thailand 2006-20B Thaicom 5 2006 May 27(w) Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and Russian Federation
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Launching International Name Launch Date State Designation USSR 1962 Alpha Pi Venera 2MV-1 No. 1 1962 Aug 25 USSR 1962 Alpha Tau Venera 2MV-1 No. 2 1962 Sep 1 USSR 1962 Alpha Phi Venera 2MV-2 No. 1 1962 Sep 12 USSR 1962 Beta Iota Mars 2MV-4 No. 1 1962 Oct 24 USSR 1962 Beta Xi Mars 2MV-3 No. 1 1962 Nov 4 USSR 1963-01B Luna E-6 No. 1 1963 Jan 4 USSR 1966-88A - 1966 Sep 17 USSR 1966-101A - 1966 Nov 2 USSR 439? 1970-53A Cosmos-353 1970 Jul 9 USSR 440? 1970-56A Cosmos-354 1970 Jul 29 USSR 441? 1970-57A Intercosmos-3 1970 Aug 7 USSR 442? 1970-58A Cosmos-355 1970 Aug 7 USSR 443? 1970-59A Cosmos-356 1970 Aug 10 USSR 444? 1970-60A Venera-7 1970 Aug 17 USSR 445? 1970-63A Cosmos-357 1970 Aug 19 USSR 446? 1970-64A Cosmos-358 1970 Aug 20 USSR 447? 1970-65A Cosmos-359 1970 Aug 22 USSR 448? 1970-68A Cosmos-360 1970 Aug 29 USSR 449? 1970-71A Cosmos-361 1970 Sep 8 USSR 1982-33AC Astrozond 1982 Sep 18 USSR (1985-53) (Zenit debris) 1985 Jun 21 USSR 1987-30C Kvant FSB 1987 Mar 30 RF 1996-53A Inmarsat III F2 1996 Sep 6 (Denied by UK) RF 2003-31A Monitor-E dummy 2003 Jun 30 RF 2003-55A Gruzomaket 2003 Dec 5 RF 2005-20A Foton-M 2005 May 31 RF 2005-43J Mozhaets 5 2005 Oct 27 RF 2009-49C IRIS/Fregat 2009 Sep 17 RF 2009-60 Poisk 2009 Nov 10 [Note: It is most probable that the USSR launches in Jul-Sep 1970 were in fact registered with the UN, but that a clerical error by the UN resulted in the registration document not being published. The next USSR submission had sequential registration numbers which began with 450; the previous one had registration numbers ending with 438. The 1985-53 launch consisted of rocket debris only, no payload reached orbit. In contrast, the 1962 to 1966 unregistered launches were deliberately not announced by the USSR. Astrozond was a passive calibration satellite ejected from the Salyut-7 station](x) United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Launching International Name Launch Date State Designation UK 1974-02A Skynet 2A 1974 Jan 19 UK 1997-86A Asiasat 3/HGS-1 1997 Dec 24 UK 2003-22 Beagle 2 2003 Jun 2 UK 2008-34A Protostar 1 2008 Jul 7 UK 2009-27A Protostar 2 2009 May 16[Note: The UK has provided technical details to the UN for Inmarsat satellites 1991-18A to 1998-06B but explicitly denied it is the state of registry. I have now assigned them to the state which carried out the launch.] Intelsat privatized as a Bermuda company in 2001, with ITU filings done by the UK; two Inmarsat 4 satellites were registered in 2007. Asiasat 3 was a Hong Kong satellite, later sold to the US.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Launching International Name Launch Date Category
State Designation
US 1965-108V OV2-3 1965 Dec 21 (lost, rediscovered in 1983)
US 1970-29 LM 7 Aquarius 1970 Apr 11
US 1978-106A NATO 3C 1978 Nov 19
US 1981-119A Intelsat 5 F3 1981 Dec 15
US 1982-97A Intelsat 5 F5 1982 Sep 28
US 1983-60C USAF satellite 1983 Jun 20
US 1983-105A Intelsat 5 F7 1983 Oct 19
US 1984-23A Intelsat 5 F8 1984 Mar 5
US 1984-115A NATO 3D 1984 Nov 14
US 1985-25A Intelsat 5A F10 1985 Mar 22
US 1985-55A Intelsat 5A F11 1985 Jun 30
US 1985-63B PDP 1985 Jul 29
US 1985-87A Intelsat 5A F12 1985 Sep 28
US 1988-40A Intelsat 5A F13 1988 May 18 (Denied by NL, A/AC.105/824)
US 1988-52A Nova 2 1988 Jun 16
US 1989-06A Intelsat 5A F15 1989 Jan 27
US 1989-84E Galileo Probe 1989 Oct 18
US 1989-87A Intelsat 6 F2 1989 Oct 27
US 1990-21A Intelsat 6 F3 1990 Mar 14
US 1990-56A Intelsat 6 F4 1990 Jun 23
US 1990-93A Inmarsat II F1 1990 Oct 30 (Denied by UK)
US 1991-18A Inmarsat II F2 1991 Mar 9 (Denied by UK)
US 1991-55A Intelsat 6 F5 1991 Aug 14
US 1991-75A Intelsat 6 F1 1991 Oct 29
US 1991-80A STS 44 1991 Nov 25
US 1993-17B SEDS 1 1993 Mar 30
US 1993-66A Intelsat 701 1993 Oct 22
US 1994-34A Intelsat 702 1994 Jun 17
US 1994-64A Intelsat 703 1994 Oct 6
US 1994-73A STS 66 1994 Nov 3
US 1995-01A Intelsat 704 1995 Jan 10
US 1995-04H ODERACS 2F 1995 Feb 3
US 1995-13A Intelsat 705 1995 Mar 22
US 1995-23A Intelsat 706 1995 May 17
US 1996-15A Intelsat 707 1996 Mar 14
US 1996-35A Intelsat 709 1996 Jun 15
US 1996-20A Inmarsat III F1 1996 Apr 3 (Denied by UK)
US 1996-70A Inmarsat III F3 1996 Dec 18 (Denied by UK)
US 1997-09A Intelsat 801 1997 Mar 1
US 1997-31A Intelsat 802 1997 Jun 25
US 1997-51C Iridium 33 1997 Sep 14
US 1997-53A Intelsat 803 1997 Sep 23
US 1997-83A Intelsat 804 1997 Dec 22
US 1998-14A Intelsat 806 1998 Feb 28
US 1998-18A Iridium 1998 Mar 25
US 1998-18B Iridium 1998 Mar 25
US 1998-37A Intelsat 805 1998 Jun 18
US 1999-01 DS2 Scott 1999 Jan 3
US 1999-01 DS2 Amundsen 1999 Jan 3
US 1999-14A DemoSat 1999 Mar 28 Other commercial
US 1999-53A LMI 1 1999 Sep 27 Other commercial
US 2000-74A QuickBird 2000 Nov 20 Other commercial
US 2002-58H Latinsat A 2002 Dec 20 Other commercial
US 2002-58B Latinsat B 2002 Dec 20 Other commercial
US 2004-24A Telstar 18 2004 Jun 29 Other commercial
US 1990-097 Secret satellite? 1990 Nov 15
[56]
Note: Prior to 1981 Intelsat launches were registered by the US. In the years
between 1981 and Intelsat privatization in 2001, no state registered Intelsat launches.
Some US officials have argued that INTELSAT was an IGO and should have had its own
registry; while this is true, my reading of the rules and of past practice (e.g. France and ESA)
is that the host country of the organization's headquarters is responsible until the IGO
establishes its indepedent registry - therefore, the US should have registered the 28
Intelsat satellites in question.
Note: In 2013 the US registered 87 previously unregistered satellites
launched between 1986 and 2010. However the registration information did not include orbital
data, contrary to the provisions of the convention and to long standing practice. I therefore
consider these satellites to remain out of compliance. They are listed below.
US 1986-14H USA 18 1986 Feb 9
US 1989-72A USA 45 1989 Sep 6
US 1990-31A USA 56 1990 Apr 11
US 1990-31B USA 57 1990 Apr 11
US 1990-31C USA 58 1990 Apr 11
US 1991-76D USA 76 1991 Nov 8
US 1991-76E USA 77 1991 Nov 8
US 1993-58B ACTS 1993 Sep 12
US 1994-40A PAS 2 1994 Jul 8 Other commercial
US 1995-57A UHF F6 1995 Oct 22
US 1995-69A Galaxy 3R 1995 Dec 15 Other commercial
US 1995-72B Skipper 1995 Dec 28
US 1995-73A Echostar 1 1995 Dec 28 Other commercial
US 1997-30A Iridium 9 1997 Jun 18
US 1997-30B Iridium 10 1997 Jun 18
US 1997-30C Iridium 11 1997 Jun 18
US 1997-30D Iridium 12 1997 Jun 18
US 1997-30E Iridium 13 1997 Jun 18
US 1997-30F Iridium 14 1997 Jun 18
US 1997-30G Iridium 16 1997 Jun 18
US 1997-51A Iridium 1997 Sep 14
US 1997-51B Iridium 1997 Sep 14
US 1997-51D Iridium 1997 Sep 14
US 1997-51E Iridium 1997 Sep 14
US 1997-51F Iridium 1997 Sep 14
US 1997-51G Iridium 1997 Sep 14
US 1998-21A Iridium 1998 Apr 7
US 1998-21B Iridium 1998 Apr 7
US 1998-21C Iridium 1998 Apr 7
US 1998-21D Iridium 1998 Apr 7
US 1998-21E Iridium 1998 Apr 7
US 1998-21F Iridium 1998 Apr 7
US 1998-21G Iridium 1998 Apr 7
US 1998-65A Panamsat 8 1998 Nov 4 Other commercial
US 1999-04A Globalstar 1999 Feb 9
US 1999-04B Globalstar 1999 Feb 9
US 1999-04C Globalstar 1999 Feb 9
US 1999-04D Globalstar 1999 Feb 9
US 1999-12A Globalstar 1999 Mar 15
US 1999-12B Globalstar 1999 Mar 15
US 1999-12C Globalstar 1999 Mar 15
US 1999-12D Globalstar 1999 Mar 15
US 1999-19A Globalstar 1999 Apr 15
US 1999-19B Globalstar 1999 Apr 15
US 1999-19C Globalstar 1999 Apr 15
US 1999-19D Globalstar 1999 Apr 15
US 1999-31A Globalstar 1999 Jun 10
US 1999-31B Globalstar 1999 Jun 10
US 1999-31C Globalstar 1999 Jun 10
US 1999-31D Globalstar 1999 Jun 10
US 1999-49A Globalstar 1999 Sep 22
US 1999-49B Globalstar 1999 Sep 22
US 1999-49C Globalstar 1999 Sep 22
US 1999-49D Globalstar 1999 Sep 22
US 1999-58A Globalstar 1999 Oct 18
US 1999-58B Globalstar 1999 Oct 18
US 1999-58C Globalstar 1999 Oct 18
US 1999-58D Globalstar 1999 Oct 18
US 1999-62A Globalstar 1999 Nov 22
US 1999-62B Globalstar 1999 Nov 22
US 1999-62C Globalstar 1999 Nov 22
US 1999-62D Globalstar 1999 Nov 22
US 2001-24A Intelsat 901 2001 Jun 9
US 2001-39A Intelsat 902 2001 Aug 30 [Previously tagged to UK]
US 2002-07A Intelsat 904 2002 Feb 23 [Previously tagged to UK]
US 2002-16A Intelsat 903 2002 Mar 30 [Previously tagged to UK]
US 2002-27A Intelsat 905 2002 Jun 5 [Previously tagged to UK]
US 2002-41A Intelsat 906 2002 Sep 6 [Previously tagged to UK]
US 2003-07A Intelsat 907 2003 Feb 15 [Previously tagged to UK]
US 2004-22A Intelsat 10-02 2004 Jun 16 [Previously tagged to UK]
US 2005-22A Intelsat Americas-8 2005 Jun 23 [Previously tagged to UK]
US 2007-16B Galaxy 17 2007 May 4 [Previously tagged to UK] Other commercial
US 2007-20A Globalstar 2007 May 29
US 2007-20B Globalstar 2007 May 29
US 2007-20C Globalstar 2007 May 29
US 2007-20D Globalstar 2007 May 29
US 2007-44B Intelsat 11 2007 Oct 5 [Previously tagged to UK]
US 2007-48A Globalstar 2007 Oct 20
US 2007-48B Globalstar 2007 Oct 20
US 2007-48C Globalstar 2007 Oct 20
US 2007-48D Globalstar 2007 Oct 20
US 2009-64A Intelsat 14 2009 Nov 23 [Previously tagged to UK]
US 2009-67A Intelsat 15 2009 Nov 29 [Previously tagged to UK]
US 2007-63B Horizons 2 2007 Dec 21 Other commercial
US 2008-11A AMC 14 2008 Mar 14 Other commercial
US 2010-06A Intelsat 16 2010 Feb 12
US 2010-65B Intelsat 17 2010 Nov 28
Note: The 175 unregistered or uncompliant satellites that I claim should be the responsibility of the US
break down as follows:
Unregistered Uncompliant
Satellites reentered prior to 1962 - 32
Intelsat satellites - 28 14
Globalstar satellites - 0 36
Iridium satellites - 3 20
Inmarsat satellites - 4 0 (launched by US and denied by UK)
Other commercial sats - 6 7
Shuttle missions - 2 0
Space probes - 5 0 (one might reasonably argue about some of these)
Civilian sats - 4 0 (two are arguable cases)
Unclassified military - 6 2
Secret military - 2 7
% 60 86
% 56 87
My understanding of the US position is that the US denies it is responsible for registering
the old Intelsat satellites because Intelsat was an IGO;
notes it does not have to register the pre-1962 satellites since the convention
was not in force; and sees the other cases as not worth correcting because it is lazy.
(I welcome a clarification on these points from my friends in the US State Dept.)
[Note: Independent analysts have accumulated evidence that the United
States deployed an additional, unacknowledged, paylod on the STS-38
mission (1990-097), as well as the acknowledged payload USA 67. The
secret payload is reported to have the designation PROWLER. I regard the
evidentiary case as medium-to-strong, but not completely proved. The alleged
illegal payload is listed here and, provisionally, included in the totals above.]
() Norway
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Launching International Name Launch Date State Designation Norway 1997-25A Thor 2 1997 May 20 Norway 1998-35A Thor 3 1998 Jun 10 Norway 2005-43H NCUBE 2 2005 Oct 27 Norway 2008-06A Thor 5 2008 Feb 11 Norway 2009-58B Thor 6 2009 Oct 29 Norway 2010-35C AISSAT-1 2010 Jul 12() Egypt
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Launching International Name Launch Date State Designation Egypt 1998-24A Nilesat 101 1998 Apr 28 Egypt 2000-46B Nilesat 102 2000 Aug 17 Egypt 2010-37A Nilesat 201 2010 Aug 4() Singapore
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Launching International Name Launch Date State Designation Singapore 1998-49A Singapore-Taiwan-1 1998 Aug 25() Republic of China (Taiwan)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Launching International Name Launch Date State Designation Taiwan 1999-02A ROCSAT 1999 Jan 3 Taiwan 2004-18A ROCSAT-2 2004 May 20 Taiwan 2006-11A COSMIC 1 2006 Apr 15 Taiwan 2006-11B COSMIC 2 2006 Apr 15 Taiwan 2006-11C COSMIC 3 2006 Apr 15 Taiwan 2006-11D COSMIC 4 2006 Apr 15 Taiwan 2006-11E COSMIC 5 2006 Apr 15 Taiwan 2006-11F COSMIC 6 2006 Apr 15() Turkey
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Launching International Name Launch Date State Designation Turkey 2009-51E ITUPSAT-1 2009 Sep 23() Republic of South Africa
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Launching International Name Launch Date State Designation [All sats registered 2013]() Denmark
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Launching International Name Launch Date State Designation Denmark 2003-31C DTUSat 2003 Jun 30 Denmark 2003-31G AAU-Cubesat 2003 Jun 30 Denmark 2008-21F AAUSAT 2 2008 Apr 28() Iran
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Launching International Name Launch Date State Designation Iran 2005-43D Sinah-1 2005 Oct 27 Iran 2009-04A Omid 2009 Feb 2() Mauritius
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Launching International Name Launch Date State Designation Mauritius 2007-63A RASCOM-QAF 1 2007 Dec 21 Mauritius 2010-37B RASCOM-QAF 1R 2010 Aug 4() Vietnam
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Launching International Name Launch Date State Designation Vietnam 2008-18A Vinasat 1 2008 Apr 18() Swiss Confederation
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Launching International Name Launch Date State Designation Swiss Confed 2009-51B SwissCube 2009 Sep 23 Swiss Confed 2010-35E TIsat-1 2010 Jul 12() Ukraine
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Launching International Name Launch Date State Designation Ukraine 2010-28C BPA-1 2010 Jun 15