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The company that produced the payload for the rocket is in the US and was denied their application to launch this payload because it poses a risk to other satellites and spacecraft.

If all companies were outside of the US then it would come down to whether a treaty or similar agreement exists (of which I am not aware).




> a treaty or similar agreement exists (of which I am not aware).

If you're interested you can take a look at the "five United Nations treaties on outer space" which are the basis of international space law: http://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/spacelaw/treaties.html

Specifically, under the terms of the Space Liability Convention, a state which launches an object into space is liable for damages caused by that object. A practical example was the crash of Kosmos 954 over northern Canada: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosmos_954


I can't upvote you more than once, but thank you! This'll be interesting to look into.




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