181. Editorial Note
During 1961 and 1962, Kennedy administration officials became increasingly concerned about a possible arms race in outer space. On September 25, 1961, for instance, President Kennedy proposed in an address [Page 406] before the UN General Assembly “keeping nuclear weapons from seeding new battlegrounds in outer space” and extending the rule of law on earth “to manʼs new domain—outer space.” (Documents on Disarmament, 1961, pages 470-471) The U.S. treaty outline on general and comprehensive disarmament, submitted to the Eighteen-Nation Disarmament Committee on April 18, 1962, proposed that the parties to the treaty “agree not to place in orbit weapons capable of producing mass destruction.” (Ibid., 1962, volume I, page 360) For information on subsequent measures concerning a possible arms race with the Soviet Union in outer space and relevant documentation, see Foreign Relations, 1961–1963, volume VII, pages 563–565.