Liability Convention (1972)

The Convention on International Liability for Damage Caused by Space Objects (1972) builds on the Outer Space Treaty to establish detailed liability rules. A launching state bears absolute liability for damage caused by its space object on the surface of the Earth or to aircraft in flight — meaning the claimant need not prove fault. For damage caused in space to another state's space object, liability is fault-based. The convention has been invoked once: Canada claimed against the Soviet Union in 1978 after the nuclear-powered Cosmos 954 satellite scattered radioactive debris across northern Canada. The USSR paid C$3 million.