- Latest available (Revised)
- Original (As enacted)
Space Industry Act 2018
You are here:
What Version
Advanced Features
- Show Geographical Extent(e.g. England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland)
- Show Timeline of Changes
Opening Options
Changes to legislation:
Space Industry Act 2018, Section 3 is up to date with all changes known to be in force on or before 31 December 2024. There are changes that may be brought into force at a future date. Changes that have been made appear in the content and are referenced with annotations.
Changes to Legislation
Revised legislation carried on this site may not be fully up to date. Changes and effects are recorded by our editorial team in lists which can be found in the ‘Changes to Legislation’ area. Where those effects have yet to be applied to the text of the legislation by the editorial team they are also listed alongside the legislation in the affected provisions. Use the ‘more’ link to open the changes and effects relevant to the provision you are viewing.
Changes and effects yet to be applied to Section 3:
- specified provision(s) amendment to earlier commencing S.I. 2021/817, Sch. by S.I. 2021/874 reg. 2
3Prohibition of unlicensed spaceflight etcU.K.
This section has no associated Explanatory Notes
(1)A person must not (subject to the following provisions)—
(a)carry out spaceflight activities in the United Kingdom, or
(b)operate a spaceport in the United Kingdom,
except under the authority of a licence under this section.
(2)In this Act—
“operator licence” means a licence under this section authorising a person to carry out spaceflight activities;
“spaceport” means—
(a)a site from which spacecraft or carrier aircraft are launched or (as the case may be) are to be launched, or
(b)a site at which controlled and planned landings of spacecraft take place or (as the case may be) are to take place;
“spaceport licence” means a licence under this section authorising a person to operate a spaceport.
(3)In subsection (2), the reference to a site in paragraph (b) of the definition of “spaceport” does not include an installation at sea that can be moved from place to place without major dismantling or modification.
(4)A person does not require an operator licence to carry out, as employee or agent of another person, spaceflight activities that are authorised by an operator licence granted to that other person.
(5)Regulations may make further provision for the purposes of this section, including in particular—
(a)provision prescribing eligibility criteria for a licensee;
(b)provision requiring prescribed roles to be undertaken by individuals on behalf of a licensee.
“Licensee” here means the holder of a licence under this section.
(6)A person who acts in contravention of subsection (1) commits an offence.
(7)It is an offence for a person—
(a)to make a statement that the person knows to be false in a material particular, or
(b)recklessly to make a statement that is false in a material particular,
for the purpose of obtaining a licence under this section (whether for the person making the statement or anyone else).
Commencement Information
I1S. 3(1) in force at 29.7.2021 for specified purposes by S.I. 2021/817, reg. 2, Sch. para. 7 (with reg. 3) (as amended by S.I. 2021/874, regs. 1(2), 2(2))
I2S. 3(2)(3) in force at 26.11.2018 by S.I. 2018/1224, reg. 2(e)
I3S. 3(4) in force at 29.7.2021 by S.I. 2021/817, reg. 2, Sch. para. 8 (with reg. 3)
I4S. 3(5) in force at 26.11.2018 by S.I. 2018/1224, reg. 2(f)
I5S. 3(6)(7) in force at 29.7.2021 by S.I. 2021/817, reg. 2, Sch. para. 9 (with reg. 3)
Options/Help
Print Options
PrintThe Whole Act
PrintThe Whole Cross Heading
PrintThis Section only
You have chosen to open The Whole Act
The Whole Act you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.
Would you like to continue?
You have chosen to open The Whole Act as a PDF
The Whole Act you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download.
Would you like to continue?
You have chosen to open the Whole Act
The Whole Act you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.
Would you like to continue?
Legislation is available in different versions:
Latest Available (revised):The latest available updated version of the legislation incorporating changes made by subsequent legislation and applied by our editorial team. Changes we have not yet applied to the text, can be found in the ‘Changes to Legislation’ area.
Original (As Enacted or Made): The original version of the legislation as it stood when it was enacted or made. No changes have been applied to the text.
See additional information alongside the content
Geographical Extent: Indicates the geographical area that this provision applies to. For further information see ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.
Show Timeline of Changes: See how this legislation has or could change over time. Turning this feature on will show extra navigation options to go to these specific points in time. Return to the latest available version by using the controls above in the What Version box.
Opening Options
Different options to open legislation in order to view more content on screen at once
Explanatory Notes
Text created by the government department responsible for the subject matter of the Act to explain what the Act sets out to achieve and to make the Act accessible to readers who are not legally qualified. Explanatory Notes were introduced in 1999 and accompany all Public Acts except Appropriation, Consolidated Fund, Finance and Consolidation Acts.
More Resources
Access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item from this tab. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:
- the original print PDF of the as enacted version that was used for the print copy
- lists of changes made by and/or affecting this legislation item
- confers power and blanket amendment details
- all formats of all associated documents
- correction slips
- links to related legislation and further information resources
Timeline of Changes
This timeline shows the different points in time where a change occurred. The dates will coincide with the earliest date on which the change (e.g an insertion, a repeal or a substitution) that was applied came into force. The first date in the timeline will usually be the earliest date when the provision came into force. In some cases the first date is 01/02/1991 (or for Northern Ireland legislation 01/01/2006). This date is our basedate. No versions before this date are available. For further information see the Editorial Practice Guide and Glossary under Help.
More Resources
Use this menu to access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:
- the original print PDF of the as enacted version that was used for the print copy
- correction slips
Click 'View More' or select 'More Resources' tab for additional information including:
- lists of changes made by and/or affecting this legislation item
- confers power and blanket amendment details
- all formats of all associated documents
- links to related legislation and further information resources
All content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. This site additionally contains content derived from EUR-Lex, reused under the terms of the Commission Decision 2011/833/EU on the reuse of documents from the EU institutions. For more information see the EUR-Lex public statement on re-use.