enlarged in COPUOS to 24 members. The socialist bloc obtained 7 out of the 24 members. The committee was again enlarged in 1961 by adding Chad, Mongolia, 3 Morocco, and Sierra Leone. The 28 became 37 on December 18, 1973 with the adoption of General Assembly Resolution 3182 (XXVIII). Added as new members by appointment of the President of the General Assembly were Chile, the German Democratic Republic, the Federal Republic of Germany, Indonesia, Kenya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sudan, and Venezuela. Then, on December 20, 1977 the 37 became 47 with the adoption of General Assembly Resolution 32/196B. New members were Benin, Colombia, Ecuador, Iraq, Netherlands, Niger, Philippines, Turkey, United Republic of Cameroon, and Yugoslavia. Two facts stand out in the augmentations of membership. First, the space resource States were joined by representatives of the LDCs. Second, the equatorial States received strong representation. With the admission of Nauru to the United Nations in 1976 there were 9 equatorial States as members. Of these five, namely Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Indonesia, and Kenya are committee members. Congo, Nauru, Uganda, and Zaire have not been appointed to the committee. Since geostationary space objects find an orbital position above the Equator to be congenial the named States have a particular interest in this subject. 1.5 Additional International Forums While it may not be possible to forecast with finality the respective roles of States having the capacity to embark on major space programs (space-resource States) and all the others, yet it is feasible to predict 3 General Assembly Resolution 1721 E (XVI), 20 December 1961.
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