As with a number of space law terms, the space treaties do not provide a definition of outer space. While for the most part a common-sense approach works there are times when it leads to a lack of certainty and clarity. However, generally speaking this has not really been an issue but it worth examining, […]
Read more "Defining ‘Outer Space’"On Monday 15 January, the 2nd anniversary of British ESA astronaut Tim Peake’s historic spacewalk, the House of Commons debated the Space Industry Bill[1] after its second reading. I have discussed the Space Industry Bill, and its predecessor in the last Parliament, the Spaceflight Bill, on several occasions so I won’t go into great detail […]
Read more "UK Space Industry Bill: Second Commons Reading"The UK Space Industry Bill has now passed the House of Lords and is on its way to the House of Commons, the date for its second reading has yet to be announced but I would imagine it won’t be until the new year but you can keep track of its progress here. The Space […]
Read more "UK Space Industry Bill: A Missed Opportunity to Promote British Space Mining?"The Space Industry Bill[1] was announced as part of the Queen’s Speech on 21 June 2017. It received its first reading in the House of Lords the week after on 27 June. The Space Industry Bill is the UK Spaceflight Act which was introduced into Parliament earlier this year but was only part way through […]
Read more "UK Space Industry Bill"The Commons Select Committee on Science and Technology recently conducted an enquiry into the UK Draft Spaceflight Bill[1] and have now published a report on the subject. Unfortunately, this review process, which usually takes three to four months has been interrupted by the surprise general election called by Prime Minister Theresa May, meaning the […]
Read more "Commons Science and Technology Select Committee Review of UK Draft Spaceflight Bill"A UK spaceport has been on the horizon for a few years now and there are number of different sites scattered throughout the UK that have been positioning themselves as the most viable candidate. Initially there was going to be a winner chosen that would be the official UK spaceport but the government tweaked things […]
Read more "UK Spaceflight Act 2017"This was originally intended to be a single post largely derived from a presentation I gave at a conference on ‘The Impact of the 2016 Referendum on UK Membership of the EU’ at my alma mater, Newcastle University in September 2016. However, as it has now grown to over six pages (and that’s before I’ve […]
Read more "Spexit: What Does Brexit Mean for the UK’s Place in Space? Part 1"
Thomas' Blog 