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
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.
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