Türkiye’s Studies in The Space Field
Türkiye’s Studies in The Space Field

Author(s): Hande Ortay
Subject(s): Law, Constitution, Jurisprudence
Published by: Transnational Press London
Keywords: Türkiye; Studies; Space Field;
Summary/Abstract: In 1961, after four years of efforts and rocket tests of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), the first manned spacecraft called Sputnik, under the command of Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, successfully orbited the earth, and this event has created a major security concern in the United States of America (USA). This situation has showed that the USSR had the capacity to stage a targeted missile attack on the USA. In the face of this threat, the US administrations started a very costly space race with the belief that they should defeat the USSR in space exploration and that getting ahead in the said race is of key importance for world leadership. In this context, John F. Kennedy, who was elected President in 1961, used the following expressions in his speech known as ‘Moon Speech’: ‘Those who came before us made certain that this country rode the first waves of the industrial revolutions, the first waves of modern invention, and the first wave of nuclear power, and this generation does not intend to founder in the backwash of the coming age of space. We mean to be a part of it we mean to lead it. For the eyes of the world now look into space, to the moon and to the planets beyond, and we have vowed that we shall not see it governed by a hostile flag of conquest, but by a banner of freedom and peace. We have vowed that we shall not see space filled with weapons of mass destruction, but with instruments of knowledge and understanding. We set sail on this new sea because there is new knowledge to be gained, and new rights to be won, and they must be won and used for the progress of all people. For space science, like nuclear science and all technology, has no conscience of its own. Whether it will become a force for good or ill depends on man, and only if the United States occupies a position of pre-eminence can we help decide whether this new ocean will be a sea of peace or a new terrifying theater of war... We choose to go to the moon. We cannot guarantee that we will be the first nation to reach the moon, but if we are not successful in making this effort, we will certainly be the last.’

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