NASA sued for dumping battery packs from space! - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Gyro
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 24, 2024, 06:33:26 pm
content: As I understand it, the issue in the video is that it is theInternationalSpace Station, therefore not just NASA.Edit: As for who manufactured the batteries, and more importantly, who's decision it was to just dump them over the side however...

author: soldar
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 24, 2024, 06:51:00 pm
content: Quote from: Gyro on June 24, 2024, 06:33:26 pmIt is not from the ISS, it is from a NASA vehicle, as NASA has acknowledged.

author: mendip_discovery
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 24, 2024, 07:09:05 pm
content: https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/2024/04/15/nasa-completes-analysis-of-recovered-space-object/QuoteSo from the ISS but instructed by NASA.

author: MT
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 24, 2024, 07:28:33 pm
content: So NASA let a box of batteries circulating around the globe for 3 years!

author: David Hess
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 24, 2024, 07:29:25 pm
content: The dumb part is that it would have been cheaper for NASA to compensate their victims than defend the lawsuit in court. They must want to establish precedence that NASA is not responsible.

author: David Hess
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 24, 2024, 07:30:49 pm
content: Quote from: MT on June 24, 2024, 07:28:33 pmNo, NASA allowed an uncontrolled reentry of something which they certified would burn up and did not.

author: Bud
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 24, 2024, 07:57:25 pm
content: @OP can you summarise the claim of the law suite. It is often that people post stuff where the meat is on page 65 of the referenced document or at 23:12 in the video.

author: Gyro
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 24, 2024, 08:36:24 pm
content: I think they might have smelted themselves some Nickel Iron meteorites / ingots, a new method of recycling?https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10962247.2015.1131206

author: RJSV
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 24, 2024, 11:28:59 pm
content: Yes, good idea.Jewelry might sell (limited to a couple of pieces), after lapidary slicing, and put mounted on rings, etc. Now, then watch NASA come for their property back.What's the legal chain of ownership, after abandoned to burn up in re-entry. NASA lawyers reading this, any, ?

author: SmallCog
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 24, 2024, 11:54:43 pm
content: They never paid their fine for littering in Australia after the Slylab re-entryhttps://www.skymania.com/nasas-litter-bill-paid-30-years-on/Likely a similar concept of don't set a precedent

author: amyk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 25, 2024, 12:07:39 am
content: Quote from: RJSV on June 24, 2024, 11:28:59 pmNot a lawyer but I think they explicitly relinquished ownership if they deliberately decided to just dump it.

author: SiliconWizard
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 25, 2024, 12:20:41 am
content: https://www.criminaldefenselawyer.com/crime-penalties/federal/Illegal-Dumping.htm

author: Stray Electron
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 25, 2024, 12:22:26 am
content: Quote from: amyk on June 25, 2024, 12:07:39 amThat would depend on the jurisdiction and there is no jurisdiction in space. OTOH that's probbly true anywhere within the US so the plaintiffs might be able to make a case.By comparison, if you're a criminal and throw a gun or other evidence out of your car on a public highway and the police find it and use it as evidence against you, would you be allowed to argue that the evidence was your private property and the police had to return it to you and should not be allowed to use it as evidence?Or if you deliberately throw something out of your car and onto a public highway and someone else finds it and claims it, would you be allowed to claim that it was your private property and that the finder had to return it to you?

author: RJSV
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 25, 2024, 12:54:41 am
content: Still, I'm intrigued by the concept of producing jewelry, or pendants particularly. With a thin slicing lapidary saw, and mounted by a skilled artist, the (victim) of the battery crash, so to speak, could try a few pieces, high priced and with gold chain... On eBay ?$700. Gold Chain 'Orbital Art'Pendant. 15 mm by 40 mm diameter,with silver housing.Authentication Certificate included..

author: schmitt trigger
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 25, 2024, 02:09:06 am
content: Quote from: SmallCog on June 24, 2024, 11:54:43 pmI seem to recall an incident, perhaps 40+ years ago, where a Soviet spy spacecraft utilizing a radioactive generator which crashed in Canada?Thanks Google! It was Kosmos 954.

author: soldar
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 25, 2024, 07:20:58 am
content: Quote from: Stray Electron on June 25, 2024, 12:22:26 amNations are responsible for damage caused by their space objects and must avoid contaminating space and celestial bodies.https://www.spacefoundation.org/space_brief/international-space-law/International Space LawThere are five international treaties underpinning space law, overseen by the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNCOPUOS).The Outer Space Treaty“Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies”The treaty is the foundation of international space law for signatory nations (108 in 2019). The treaty presents principles for space exploration and operation:Space activities are for the benefit of all nations, and any country is free to explore orbit and beyond.There is no claim for sovereignty in space; no nation can “own” space, the Moon or any other body.Weapons of mass destruction are forbidden in orbit and beyond, and the Moon, the planets, and other celestial bodies can only be used for peaceful purposes.Any astronaut from any nation is an “envoy of mankind,” and signatory states must provide all possible help to astronauts when needed, including emergency landing in a foreign country or at sea.Signatory states are each responsible for their space activities, including private commercial endeavors, and must provide authorization and continuing supervision.Nations are responsible for damage caused by their space objects and must avoid contaminating space and celestial bodies.

author: magic
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 25, 2024, 08:32:25 am
content: Maybe they left it in space, but their problem is that it landed in their home jurisdiction. Should have aimed it at North Korea or something

author: SiliconWizard
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 26, 2024, 12:50:44 am
content: Yes. That's funky, imagine that: if all it took to get rid of inconvenient trash without any legal consequence was to throw it into space and let it fall back down wherever it gets, that would be a lot of fun.Btw, what's the legal definition of space that is recognized internationally? What altitude exactly above sea level? Maybe that would be some good use for the Spinlaunch...