The Government is planning to pass the Space Industry Regulations 2021 later this year. However, the wording used in the regulations means there is currently no clear cap on liabilities.
Industry executives are now growing increasingly worried that the legislation will potentially leave them on the hook for hundreds of millions of pounds per launch.
“When I asked about this I was told: ‘Well we have the best regulation in the world, of course it will be more expensive’,” one space industry source fumes.
For small rocket companies,
such as Edinburgh-headquartered Skyrora, it is proving an unexpected headache.
“We wanted this to be an opportunity rather than a pain,” says Alan Thompson, its head of government affairs.
Rocket firms are still waiting for launch licences, which are due to be handled by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). Under the current plans, the CAA will agree to liabilities on a case-by-case basis. Each operator will take on a level of risk for disasters on launch or in-orbit collisions, after which the Government will step in.
But with no confirmed maximum cap, rocket companies have complained they face a struggle convincing customers to take a punt on the UK when they may end up footing more of the bill than they had bargained for.
In addition to this, there is a further liability for every satellite launched.
Currently, that is set at up to €60m (£51m). But industry figures are concerned this applies to each individual satellite, meaning a launch of a dozen small satellites, each weighing only a few kilograms, could land firms with hundreds of millions of pounds of risk.
“They are the size of a tin can,” says Skyrora’s Thompson, “don’t tell me that is causing €60m worth of damage.”
The Government is understood to be reviewing the €60m liability for satellite launches.
A Department for Transport spokesman said: “No launch or satellite operator will face unlimited liability. Insurance policies have been drawn up following in-depth consultation with stakeholders and we will continue those conversations as we build towards this bold new future of space travel.”
The CAA and UK Space Agency did not comment. However, in a recent presentation to industry, the agency said: “Operators will not face unlimited third-party liability.”
Despite such assurances, space chiefs want to see more concrete action from the Government, which has ambitions to capture 10pc of the global space market by 2030.
