UK embarks on new era of spaceflight with launch of ground-breaking regulatory council

The UK continues its leadership in the new era of spaceflight as Transport Minister Trudy Harrison announces today (25 November 2021) a ground-breaking partnership to shape the UK’s world-leading regulations.

The newly formed Spaceflight Safety and Regulatory Council, comprised of government members, industry experts and the Space Flight Regulator, will carry out vital work over the coming year to ensure the UK maintains the most progressive spaceflight regulations across the globe.

The current regulations were passed this summer, providing the framework to regulate the UK space industry and enable launches to take off from home soil.

They unlocked a potential £4 billion of market opportunities over the next decade, creating thousands of jobs and benefitting communities across the UK.

The launch of this legislation put the UK in the position of being the first country in Europe to launch spacecraft and satellites from home.

Committee members, from organisations including Virgin Orbit and UK Space, gathered today to attend the inaugural council meeting, marking a blast-off moment in the UK’s efforts to develop a world-leading space sector.

Members will provide advice and recommendations to government, ensuring the UK has the right regulatory environment to support a future of UK space launches.

Transport Minister Trudy Harrison said:

This important step shows our commitment to developing the UK space sector as we aim to become a global spaceflight leader.

Getting the right experts round a table to ensure our regulations remain fit for purpose is absolutely vital and this council will help us do just that as we aim to launch our first space missions from next year.

The new council will be responsible for keeping the regulations under review and providing recommendations to government on any changes which may be required as the sector continues to develop at pace in the UK.