Research and analysis

Commercial spaceplane certification and operations: UK government review

Operation and regulatory review of the requirements for commercial spaceplane use within the UK by 2018.

From:
Department for Transport, Department for Business, Innovation & Skills, Ministry of Defence, UK Space Agency and Civil Aviation Authority
Published
15 July 2014

Documents

UK government review of commercial spaceplane certification and operations: summary and conclusions

PDF, 1.93 MB, 80 pages

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UK government review of commercial spaceplane certification and operations: technical report

PDF, 4.27 MB, 321 pages

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Details

Review of what is required, from an operational and regulatory perspective, to enable spaceplanes to operate from the UK by 2018.

Spaceplanes are widely acknowledged as the most likely means of enabling commercial spaceflight experience or ‘space tourism’ in the near future and also have the potential to transform the costs and flexibility of:

  • satellite launches
  • cargo delivery
  • scientific payloads

The Civil Aviation Authority was tasked to this review to better understand the operational requirements of the commercial spaceplane industry in August 2012.

Updates to this page

Published 15 July 2014

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