Can anyone with enough money just send something to space? Do they need any sort of permit? Are there limits as to what can be put in space/orbit?
In: Economics
In the United States you are “Supposed to” have FAA approval. Of course, this doesn’t apply if you just stick a propane heated hot water tank to your ass and say, “WooHa”, cause, it’s not gonna matter when you land.
There are regulations (from whatever agencies would be involved in your launch site and dealing with airspace access, such as the FAA in the united states), laws (launching without going through agency approval would almost certainly be interpreted as a violation of lots of laws involving hazardous materials and putting the public in danger) and treaties (space is a shared resources, so most countries are signatories to various treaties about what can and can’t be done. In particular, putting weapons in space is a big no-no).
So if there’s a legal framework that exists, you’re probably going to have to interact with it somehow to launch something into space. If you were to try to bypass this by launching from international waters or some remote island base like a Bond villain, then your launch complex would probably mysteriously explode before you ever got close to launching anything. Operating outside the law means you don’t have the _protection_ of the law.
no one owns space, but you have to launch a rocket from somewhere, and most countries have limits on what you can launch and who you have to coordinate your orbit with.
There are various treaties restricting putting weapons in space, but generally if you have enough money, you can put whatever you want in space as long as you have an End of Life plan so your satellite doesnt just become space debris in an orbit someone else might want to use.
If you personally want to put up a small satellite in a decaying orbit, you can do so for only 100K or so with a CubeSat rideshare
There’s a huge amount of permit work if you are launching from the US and also permits if you are transmitting into the US or your company is based there.
I like to keep track of SpaceX news, and in the lead up to a launch it seems like half the news is related to lining up this or that permit.
If you have enough money you can probably do whatever you want by bribing a few officials in some impoverished dictatorship, um, I mean, “invest” in the space program of the great nation of Childmortalitystan.
But if you had enough money you would probably just hire people to navigate the authorities of somewhere less risky, more developed and easier to operate in.
Launch itself depends on the country as they control the airspace.
Putting anything into space depend on the country as not all signed The Outer Space Treaty.
It may be theoretically possible to send anything to space, practical and legal limitations ensure that such activities are conducted in accordance with both national and international regulations.
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