# Who controls air space in space? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 13, 2014, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-controls-air-space-in-space/701163 "2014-10-13T02:47:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-controls-air-space-in-space/701163/21 "2015-01-22T15:45:30Z")
> [@Ornery\_Bob](#): > > It doesn’t look to me like tracking satellites is all that hard. I was able to Google up websites that do it in real time for free. > > One thing you can be sure of… the companies that do this sort of thing commercially don’t just randomly pick an orbit and hope for the best. They pay people to figure out their best shot. Everything is always a crap shoot, but knowledge is power and satellite orbital knowledge is readily available to those who know how to use it. Sure. The tracks of all current satellites and most space junk (anything big enough to be picked up on ground-based radar or telescopes) are known. NORAD publishes (as often as weekly) a set of data which, when processed by a simple orbit prediction model, will tell you with fair accuracy where the subject satellite will be in its orbit at any given moment in the near future. And NORAD also maintains a catalog of orbital objects. The information is out there. Mission ops and planners have expertise, experience, and scads of tools to do this very thing. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-controls-air-space-in-space/701163/22 "2015-01-22T15:51:21Z")
Perhaps we need to establish an agency which would send out [ships](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077066/?ref_=nv_sr_1)to scoop up the debris & dead satellites. ---
**Author:** ![JustinC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justinc/32/8083_2.png) [@JustinC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JustinC)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2015, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-controls-air-space-in-space/701163/23 "2015-01-24T06:12:01Z")
At times like this we really need some rich dude, like Bill Gates, to buy a volcano and a cat. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2015, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-controls-air-space-in-space/701163/24 "2015-01-24T11:32:24Z")
> [@Random\_Design](#): > > So let’s say I want to send up my own satellite, is there anyone or organization or anything that can say “No, you can’t”? There are _lots_ of organizations that will say “no, you can’t.” For starters, you have to comply with [ITAR](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Traffic_in_Arms_Regulations) regulations, enforced by various Federal agencies. If your satellite has a radio, it needs to comply with FCC requirements. If it has a camera, you need to talk to NOAA. Now, you might still say “what if I ignore all of that?” This might actually work if you’re a pariah nation like North Korea and have your own rocket program. But if you’re anyone else, launch providers won’t talk to you unless you comply with the necessary regulations. To some extent, you could probably get away with lying about the capabilities of your satellite, but if you do that I’d hope you have a good lawyer. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2015, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-controls-air-space-in-space/701163/25 "2015-01-24T11:37:55Z")
> [@gnoitall](#): > > Nowadays, you don’t just put a satellite on station and cheer while it orbits broadcasting an omnidirectional “beep beep” until it falls out of the sky. Sure you can. Cubesats do it all the time. In fact, an omnidirectional “beep beep” is a requirement. And usually they have no maneuvering capability and so stay up until air resistance brings them down. Granted, this is usually pretty quick since they’re in LEO. And they have to broadcast on specific frequencies and have an FCC license. But still, satellites can be quite simple indeed (though you’re right that it’s only polite to have some plan for deorbiting at the end of mission). ---
**Author:** ![Arrogance\_Ex\_Machina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/arrogance_ex_machina/32/192_2.png) [@Arrogance\_Ex\_Machina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrogance_Ex_Machina)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2015, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-controls-air-space-in-space/701163/26 "2015-01-24T13:31:19Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > Perhaps we need to establish an agency which would send out [ships](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077066/?ref_=nv_sr_1)to scoop up the debris & dead satellites. Aww, I was expecting the link to be to [this show](http://anidb.net/perl-bin/animedb.pl?show=anime&aid=895) instead. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-controls-air-space-in-space/701163.md?page=1)