wonder if this is somehow regulated or anybody with sufficient resources can just do these tests? what happens if it doesn't get burned when returning to the atmosphere?
We've come a long way since the days of nuclear reactor re-entry[2] oopsies.
[1] https://spectrum.ieee.org/spacex-claims-to-have-redesigned-i...
> We've come a long way since the days of nuclear reactor re-entry[2] oopsies.
Kosmos 954 was a Soviet satellite. The FCC only has jurisdiction over private US satellites. I'm not sure why you are connecting them. If China/India/Russia/etc want to risk another "nuclear reactor re-entry oopsie", that is completely out of the FCC's hands. It would probably even be out of the FCC's hands if some other US government agency (NASA or DOD or DOE) wanted to risk it.