Budget Boost For The UK Space Industry

For 25 years the UK space industry has been hindered by a statutory structure that discourages investment and which has placed it at a competitive disadvantage compared to industry in other space faring countries.

The issue has been the liability regime under the Outer Space Act 1986. A licensee under the Act has "unlimited liability"– a concept that hardly encourages investors and lenders.

However, as of 23 March 2011, George Osborne has promised that:

"To create a level playing field with other countries, the Government will reform the Outer Space Act 1986 by introducing an upper limit on liability for UK operators".

Background

The UK Government is liable under the Outer Space Treaty and Liability Convention for damage caused by activities in outer space by entities under its jurisdiction. The Government has sought to transfer its responsibility for these international obligations to the commercial or public entities, as appropriate, seeking to launch