(The following appeared in the April 29, 1983, editions of Pravda and Izvestia and has been translated from the Russian.)

A group of well-known American scientists and public figures have sent a telegram to Yuri V. Andropov, general secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, containing an appeal for a ban on space weapons.

Among those signing the telegram are ... Carl Sagan, of the Laboratory for Planetary Studies at Cornell University; Hans Bethe and Isidor Rabi, Nobel Prize winners; Christopher Craft, former director of the Johnson Space Center; Lee Du Bridge, president emeritus of the California Institute of Technology; professors Wolfgang Panofsky, George Rathjens, and Herbert York; retired Adm. Noel Gayler, former director of the National Security Agency; Vice Adm. John Lee; and others.

The authors of the appeal called particular attention to the fact that the exploration of space by man and especially the scientific data obtained as a result of interplanetary flights and observations from space stations have changed our ideas about the universe. With the help of this research, we have been able to understand our environment, so that this will perhaps be a key factor in the solution of major world problems. Activity in space has been almost entirely beneficial; it has brought vast benefits to the peoples of the world, and it represents one of the main paths toward a bright future for the human race.

Noting the great importance of the 1967 treaty prohibiting the deployment in outer space of all weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons, the American scientists and public figures emphasize that the testing and deployment of any type of armaments in space considerably increases the probability of the outbreak of war on Earth. The telegram goes on to say that in 1981 the Soviet Union officially submitted a draft treaty on the prohibition of all types of weapons in space. The authors of the appeal warn that the United States will soon begin to test of one of the most sophisticated anti-satellite systems. As soon as these weapons systems appear in the arsenals of countries, they maintain, it will become very difficult to remove them.

In conclusion, the appeals say that if space weapons are ever destined to be banned, we are apparently now entering the very last moment when this can still be done. We join in appeals to the United States, the Soviet Union and other countries that have gone into space to come to an understanding, in their own interests and in the interests of all mankind, on an agreement that bans the deployment of all types of weapons in space, as well as the damaging or destruction of the satellites of any state.

(The following appeared in the April 29, 1983, editions of Pravda and Izvestia and has been translated from the Russian.)

Esteemed gentlemen, your appeal for the banning of space weapons is permeated with serious concern for the peaceful future of space. I fully share this concern. Preventing the militarization of outer space is one of the priority problems facing mankind, and a great deal here on Earth depends on whether it is solved.

As scientists and specialists, you are well aware of the extremely dangerous consequences of saturating outer space with lethal weapons. Statesmen, politicians and scientists really ought to do everything possible right now to keep the achievements of the human intellect and the accelerating progress of science and technology from being used to harm people. I would like to emphasize that the Soviet Union -- the country that opened the road into space 25 years ago -- is an initiator of and a party to all the international agreements currently in effect that are aimed at ensuring that space is used only for peaceful purposes, for the good of mankind.

In order to radically solve this problem, the Soviet Union -- as you know, I believe -- has proposed that a treaty prohibiting the deployment of all kinds of weapons in outer space be concluded. We submitted the draft of such a treaty to the United Nations back in August 1981. The implementation of this Soviet proposal, for which an overwhelming majority of U.N. member states voted, would mean that a reliable barrier would be put in the way of attempts to turn space into a source of mortal danger to the people.

Unfortunately, work on the draft of such a treaty in the Committee on Disarmament has, in essence, not yet begun, owing to the position of the U.S. and number of other NATO states. Moreover, recent events have shown that the use of military technology in space is being assigned an ever-growing role in the U.S. strategic calculations. including those announced by top American leaders.

Now a decisive moment is indeed at hand: Either the interested states sit down at the negotiating table without delay and take up the drafting of a treaty prohibiting the deployment of weapons of any kind in outer space, or the arms race will spill over into space.

I can assure you that the Soviet Union will continue to exert the maximum effort to keep the sinister plans for transferring the arms race into space from becoming reality.

I would like to hope that scientists and public figures of the world will also make a contribution to keeping space forever free of all weapons, preventing it from becoming a field of armed clashes, and ensuring that no threat to those living on Earth comes from space.

I wish you success in your efforts to protect peaceful space, efforts that are fully supported in the Soviet Union.

Respectfully,

[signed] Yu. Andropov