Cosmos 954 and the International Law of Satellite Accidents

Abstract

Falling satellites are an unavoidable hazard of space exploration: at the current level of technology, a certain number of satellites will inevitably fall out of orbit. Nevertheless, the traditional sources of international law provide little help in determining what norms would govern a situation in which a falling satellite causes injury. The 1978 crash of the U.S.S.R.'s Cosmos 954 satellite has shed some light on the normative expectations of states concerning satellite accidents.