Separate responsibility, liability and registration

Article VI of the Outer Space Treaty — open definition addresses international responsibility for national activities, including nongovernmental ones, and requires authorization — open definition and continuing supervision of those nongovernmental activities by the appropriate state party. A privately built spacecraft therefore does not sit outside the treaty framework merely because its operator is a company.

Article VII addresses liability for damage associated with launching states. Responsibility for conduct and liability for damage are related concepts, but they are not interchangeable. A specific claim requires the applicable legal framework and facts; a mission’s marketing nationality is not a complete legal analysis.

The Registration Convention provides a framework for national registration and information supplied to the United Nations. Its information includes identification, launching-state information, launch date and location, basic orbital parameters and the object’s general function. Registration helps identify objects; it is not a universal operational license or a collision-avoidance service.

The treaty definition of a launching state — open definition can include a state that launches or procures a launch and a state whose territory or facility is used. More than one state can therefore be involved. Under the convention, the relevant launching states determine which one registers the object, considering the applicable arrangements.

Keep the legal roles distinct

Imagine a company based in one country buying a launch from another, with launch occurring in a third. List the facts that would be needed to identify the relevant legal roles. Do not assume the company address alone supplies every answer or that choosing a registry erases other responsibilities.

Registration is also distinct from ownership of land. Article VIII of the Outer Space Treaty addresses jurisdiction — open definition, control and preservation of ownership of space objects. A satellite’s identification record should not be read as a territorial deed to the orbital path it follows. The useful habit is to separate the object, operator, registry and applicable responsibilities.