Space Industry Act 2018

Legal background

15. The subject matter of this Act potentially engages issues of international outer space law and air law.
16. International rules concerning activities in outer space are governed by the UN Space Treaties.1 The United Kingdom has signed and ratified the following four out of five2 UN Space Treaties:
    • Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space including the Moon Treaty and other Celestial Bodies ("the Space Treaty");
    • Agreement on the Rescue of Astronauts, the Return of Astronauts and the Return of Objects launched in Outer Space ("the Rescue Agreement");
    • Convention on International Liability for Damage caused by Space Objects ("the Liability Convention"); and
    • Convention on Registration of Objects Launched into Outer Space ("the Registration Convention").

    These Treaties are implemented in the United Kingdom by the OSA.

17. The UN Space Treaties provide a high level framework, covering such matters as registration of space objects and liabilities for damage caused by such objects. However, no detailed international or EU rules have been developed to govern matters such as the safety and security of the craft and facilities that engage in space activities.
18. The UN Space Treaties do not define where outer space begins, but article II of the Liability Convention requires registration of a space object launched into the Earth’s orbit or beyond. This Act regulates both "space activities" governed by the Space Treaties; and "suborbital activities" (together "spaceflight activities"). The definitions of these terms in section 1 are explained further in the notes to this section below.
19. Some of the craft that might be used in either a space activity or a suborbital activity may have at least some characteristics of an aircraft.3 The key treaty governing civil aviation is the Convention on International Civil Aviation 1944 ("Chicago Convention"), which applies to aircraft engaged in international air navigation and to international air transport. The International Civil Aviation Authority ("ICAO"), responsible for oversight of the Chicago Convention, has not reached a definitive position as to whether craft involved in suborbital or space activities are subject to air law. It has recognised that current ICAO Annexes to the Chicago Convention are not suitable to meet the technical requirements of operations involving such vehicles.4
20. The European Aviation Safety Agency was established by Regulation (EC) no 1592/20025, now repealed and replaced by (EC) No 216/2008 ("the EASA Basic Regulation") to oversee a comprehensive set of common safety rules for civil aviation in the EU.6
21. The EASA Basic Regulation exempts "aircraft specifically designed or modified for research, experimental or scientific purposes, and likely to be produced in very limited numbers" (Article 4(4) and Annex II (b)). Were any relevant craft used in spaceflight activities to come within scope of the EASA Basic Regulation, these would currently fall within this exempt category. EASA and the EU have not developed any detailed regulatory rules for suborbital activity, nor indeed for any other form of spaceflight activity, as yet.
22. This Act has been developed against this backdrop. While it enables the UK to develop detailed regulatory rules even before such rules are developed at the international level, it also enables compliance with international and EU rules insofar as they may currently be understood to apply.