You were expecting Buran to break up during reentry?

Another reason I liked Buran.

Don’t know about Starship Raptor powerheads—lighter but more of them.

So from a technical standpoint, to determine liability for the damage it must be determined what debris caused the damage. If it was the battery carrier launched by Japan, then Japan is technically responsible for the damage. But if it was the batteries on the carrier that caused the damage, then it is America who is responsible.

When launched, the cargo carrier launched by Japan contained American replacement batteries for the American truss segment on the ISS. Those batteries are now on the station. The batteries that re-entered are the old batteries originally launched on the truss segment by the Space Shuttle. Thus America is the responsible launching nation for them.

Having said that, as an American taxpayer, I’m OK with NASA assuming responsibility for the damage caused by the debris regardless whether the damage was caused by the batteries or the carrier. They were American batteries on an American carrier that was only launched by Japan as part of a capabilities swap in the ISS agreement. It was NASA, not Japan, that threw the carrier overboard for an uncontrolled re-entry. It seems to me that if someone has to pay for our own bad decision, it should be us.

Granted Russia will never pay and anyone other than GB or Japan is a big question also,

So just let NASA or our state department pay for it and be done with it.

Jhon B: I have deleted the obvious obscenity from your comment. Leaving out a few letters doesn’t cut it, when it is very clear the curse you want to express.

Why do people constantly wish to debase themselves in this way? Or do you wish to join the mass of stupidity that is taking us down to a new dark age?

I demand civilized adult behavior here. Do it again and I will suspend you for a week.

Andi: That’s exactly what NASA is, exactly like China. It is a government operation that thinks it is a power unto itself. Under that mental framework, things like this can happen all the time, and do.