SpaceX's rocket videos are technically against the law. The US government just noticed.
Source: Quartz
SpaceXs rocket videos are technically against the law. The US government just noticed.
WRITTEN BY
Tim Fernholz
OBSESSION
Space Business
2 hours ago
Since 2010, millions of space fans have devoured video shot from SpaceXs Falcon 9 rocketbut not the US government agency charged with regulating videos shot from space.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) licenses surveillance systems launched into space by Americans. An agency spokesperson explained to Quartz that the agency had only recently noticed the immensely popular space videos broadcast by SpaceX for the past eight years. Other companies like United Launch Alliance, Orbital ATK, and Rocket Lab have published similar footage.
The rocket-makers did not seek licenses for their broadcasts because they didnt consider their vehicles, which operate in orbit for just hours before being abandoned, in the same category as dedicated earth-imaging satellites launched by companies like Planet or DigitalGlobe.
Sometime this year, NOAA decided that SpaceXs short-lived second-stage rocket required the same licenses as satellite platforms intended to orbit the earth for years, and instructed the company that it needed a license to share imagery from any launches not flown for government clients.
-snip-
Read more: https://qz.com/1247981/noaa-didnt-notice-years-of-illegal-spacex-falcon-9-video/