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Private spacecraft are under the authority of the government from which the organization originates in. For example, Swarm got in serious trouble with the FCC w

Private spacecraft are under the authority of the government from which the organization originates in. For example, Swarm got in serious trouble with the FCC when they launched on an Indian rocket without FCC authorization. I believe geostationary and geosynchronous orbits have some kind of bidding/registration, but for a lot of LEO it's generally free space. NORAD tracks every object near the Earth that's over a certain size (a few cm). There's tens or hundreds of thousands and growing. It's operator responsibility to avoid collisions. The ISS, for example, will adjust its orbit slightly if they get a warning about debris passing too close. Can't answer for economics, but Aerospace is still a small and tight knit industry. We all learn from each other and study failures. Deviating from the standards (such as the aforementioned unsanctioned launches is frowned upon). Your mention of parasite cubesats is already implemented on some launches.

TrueDuality 8y ago
The reason Swarm got in trouble is that they were launching smaller than cubesats, had applied for a launch license, and had it denied because of the inability to track the payloads. To keep their launch schedule, they (as a US company still) launched on an Indian based rocket to intentionally avoid the denial. This is strictly illegal under both international law (as having been denied a launch by their governing country), and US law (for being denied launch by a relevant governing agency). Space launches is definitely a small industry still, but it's fairly cut throat and I would only describe it as 'tight knit' in that generally every launch provider has interacted with every other launch provider. They will absolutely attempt to undercut each other and ignore certain paperwork as long as the customer has given their word that it has/will be approved.
samstave 8y ago
What would be the pre-emptive-defensive action an authoritative body could take, should a rogue element launch tungsten “dice” into the orbital paths of *anything. Imagine an LEO “cluster bomb” with many tungsten bomblets that just sent a cloud of shrapnel out indisriminate orbit level? Is there any defense?

TrueDuality 8y ago

The reason Swarm got in trouble is that they were launching smaller than cubesats, had applied for a launch license, and had it denied because of the inability to track the payloads. To keep their launch schedule, they (as a US company still) launched on an Indian based rocket to intentionally avoid the denial. This is strictly illegal under both international law (as having been denied a launch by their governing country), and US law (for being denied launch by a relevant governing agency). Space launches is definitely a small industry still, but it's fairly cut throat and I would only describe it as 'tight knit' in that generally every launch provider has interacted with every other launch provider. They will absolutely attempt to undercut each other and ignore certain paperwork as long as the customer has given their word that it has/will be approved.

samstave 8y ago

What would be the pre-emptive-defensive action an authoritative body could take, should a rogue element launch tungsten “dice” into the orbital paths of *anything. Imagine an LEO “cluster bomb” with many tungsten bomblets that just sent a cloud of shrapnel out indisriminate orbit level? Is there any defense?