In May 2020, off the coast of Africa. In May 2021 in the Indian Ocean. In July 2022, in the Pacific Ocean. In August 2022, in a field in Australia. More and more space junk is crashing into our Earth. What if one of them were to fall on your house?
In 1978, the Soviet Cosmos 954 satellite crashed in an arid region of northwestern Canada. He spilled radioactive debris from his nuclear reactor. The cleanup effort by Canada and the United States cost more than 11 million euros. And even if Canada asked the Soviet Union to contribute about half, the latter only agreed to an effort of barely 2 million euros.
However, laws exist at the international level to dictate the conduct to be followed and establish the responsibilities of each in such cases. A Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, signed at the United Nations as early as 1967. And a Convention on International Liability for Damage caused by space objects adopted in 1972. The fall of the Soviet satellite over Canada remains the only time these laws have been invoked.
State responsibility
But the threat seems to be getting bigger and bigger today. Because the space debris are many. Even if the risk remains low, one of them could end up one day falling on a house. On your house. What to do then?
First, alert the authorities, of course. As you may have understood, it is the government of the country in which the accident occurs which is responsible for turning to the government of the country of origin of the incriminated spacecraft. Even if the machine in question was initially launched by a private company, such as SpaceX. The country in which this company is declared will then be responsible for repairing any damage resulting from the fall of the debris.
For the record, know that, when pieces of the American Skylab station fell on uninhabited regions of Australia in 1979, the local government chose another track of compensation. He condemned the Nasa to a fine – which was never paid by the latter – of around 300 euros… for dumping garbage!