UK Act of Parliament 2018 United Kingdom

Space Industry Act 2018

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At a glance

Enforced by

CAA

What's here

27 compliance obligations, 4 practical guides across 2 topics

Penalty landscape

8 of 27 obligations carry up to 2 years imprisonment. 11 carry different penalties and 8 have no criminal penalty — flagged in the list below.

Who this Act binds

Business-side actors with duties under this Act, ranked by how often they appear.

  • Any Person 18
  • Applicant 1
  • Licence Holder 1
  • Director or Officer 1

Plus 6 non-business duties on Crown ministers, regulators, local authorities or tribunals — shown collapsed under each section below.

Relevant guidance

Practical guides for businesses affected by this Act, ordered by how closely they engage with it.

Direct — cites this Act

1 guides

Supporting — topic alignment

3 guides

Other Acts binding the same actors

For each actor bound by this Act, the other UK Acts that bind them most often. Useful for understanding the full compliance landscape facing each role.

Any Person also bound by 749 other Acts (top 5 shown)
Applicants also bound by 146 other Acts (top 5 shown)
Licence Holders also bound by 50 other Acts (top 5 shown)
Directors and Officers also bound by 224 other Acts (top 5 shown)

What this Act requires

Sections that create concrete duties on businesses or carry penalties. Procedural and definitional sections are folded into the “Browse other sections” expander at the bottom of each group. Click any section title to read the source text on legislation.gov.uk.

Schedules

Browse 7 other Schedules — structural / supplementary
s.010

Grant of spaceport licence

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • CAA must verify safety and criteria before granting spaceport licence Statutory regulator
s.017

Informed consent

2 years imprisonment
  • Allow individuals to take part in spaceflight without consent Any Person
s.030

Consultation about directions

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Regulators and Ministers must consult before giving safety or policy directions Statutory regulator
s.045

Registration of orders

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Registration of land-related orders in local property registers Crown / Minister / Government department
s.058

Offences by partnerships

Unlimited fine
  • Liability for partnership offences and individual partner neglect Any Person
s.061

Register of launches

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Secretary of State must maintain a public register of UK space launches Crown / Minister / Government department
Browse 50 other sections — procedural / definitional / commencement
Read the full Act on legislation.gov.uk (opens in a new tab)

Official guidance

Authoritative sources published by regulators or government explaining this legislation.

Enforcement and responsible bodies

The regulators that administer or enforce this legislation.

CAA

Civil Aviation Authority

UK's aviation regulator. Responsible for aviation safety, airspace policy, economic regulation of airports, and consumer protection. Issues air operator certificates, pilot licences, …

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Browse legislation

Find other UK business legislation with related guidance.

Regulators

Learn more about the bodies that enforce this legislation.