Outer Space Treaty Takes Effect: Nukes Banned
The Outer Space Treaty entered into force on October 10, 1967, after the United States, Soviet Union, and United Kingdom led negotiations at the United Nations. The treaty prohibits placing nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction in orbit, on the Moon, or on any celestial body. No nation can claim sovereignty over any part of outer space. Military bases, weapons testing, and military maneuvers are banned on celestial bodies. The treaty has been ratified by 114 nations and signed by 23 more. It remains the foundation of international space law, though its enforcement mechanisms are weak. As commercial space companies and national programs eye lunar mining and Mars colonization, the treaty's prohibitions on national appropriation face increasing pressure from economic interests it never anticipated.
October 10, 1967
59 years ago
Key Figures & Places
What Else Happened on October 10
Germanicus died vomiting in Antioch. He was 33, Rome's most popular general, and Tiberius's heir. His body showed signs of poisoning. His room contained curse t…
Germanicus succumbed to a mysterious, agonizing illness near Antioch, convinced that his rival, Governor Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso, had poisoned him. His death tri…
Husayn ibn Ali, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, refused to pledge allegiance to Caliph Yazid I, whom he considered illegitimate. Traveling to Kufa with a smal…
Husayn ibn Ali fell in battle against the forces of the Umayyad Caliph Yazid I at Karbala, cementing the definitive schism between Sunni and Shia Islam. His dea…
Charles Martel’s Frankish infantry shattered the Umayyad Caliphate’s cavalry charge between Tours and Poitiers, halting the northern expansion of Islamic forces…
Charles Martel's Frankish infantry met Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi's Umayyad cavalry near Tours on October 10, 732. The Franks formed a dense phalanx and held their…
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