Liability for Damage Caused by Private Space Activities: A Critical Analysis of the Private Autonomous Space Agency

Abstract

Commercial space activity has shifted from state-led exploration to a mixed ecosystem of private launch providers, satellite operators, constellation managers, space-tourism ventures and increasingly autonomous systems. These actors create public benefits, but also expose people, property, aircraft, spacecraft and the orbital environment to risks crossing territorial boundaries. The legal difficulty is that the entity controlling an operational risk may be a corporation, while international responsibility and treaty claims attach principally to States. An individual whose property is damaged by debris cannot independently initiate a Liability Convention claim. This creates a gap between international responsibility, operator-level fault and access to compensation.