Corporate report

Spaceports: keeping people safe

The primary aim of this legislation is to make sure that commercial spaceflight operations do not pose an unacceptable risk of harming people near to where these operations are being carried out.

• From: UK Space Agency
• Published: 21 February 2019

Documents

Spaceports: keeping people safe

Ref: PE06415/8

PDF, 819 KB, 36 pages

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Details

A key aim of the Space Industry Act 2018 is to ensure that operators are safely managing all activities relating to launch operations in the UK in this future space age. The general public should not be exposed to any significant risks to health or life from spaceflight activities beyond that which they would normally be exposed in their daily lives.

This document outlines some key existing health and safety legal requirements that may need to be implemented by a spaceport to minimise the risks to populations nearby from the storage and use of hazardous fuels.This document also outlines away that the risks to people near the launch and the spacecraft flight path could be assessed to make sure that a spaceport location is acceptable when considering public safety.This document does not represent formal policy guidance in support of the Space Industry Act 2018. Rather, the information provided is based on studies undertaken to allow the government to understand possible ways to assure public safety.

Published 21 February 2019