With the recent news that Virgin Galactic has received FAA approval to enter the final phase of their test flight programme, the debate around the growth and viability of space tourism has once again re-emerged. This debate is particularly important for the UK, where ambitions of spaceflight and space tourism operating from UK shores gaining traction from both the UK’s Space industry, and the UK government.
The aim, set out in the 2014 Space Growth Action Plan, is to achieve commercial spaceflights from the UK by 2018. Whilst there are currently no working, commercial space operators globally, it is envisaged that technology development growth in the market (particularly if Virgin Galactic begin operations) will see the landscape shift significantly over the next 5 years. Moreover, the UK has achieved significant interest from a number of developers around the world about conducting spaceflight operations from the UK.
However, despite the variety of growth opportunities a thriving UK Space tourism industry could bring, there are significant barriers and hurdles which must be overcome before this becomes a reality – particularly in regards to safety and regulation.
But what are the 3 main barriers and the potential solutions required in order to overcome them?
1 – Export Controls – The majority of companies who are in the advanced stages of offering commercial spaceflight operations are located in the US. ‘Spaceplanes’ and their related components are held under strict ITAR controls, and not fully covered by co-operation agreements currently in place between the UK and the US. The UK and US governments will need to either – begin work on a new ‘Wasenaar’ style-agreement for commercial spaceflight; agree to exempt certain technology and data from ITAR controls so the UK can ensure effective safety and maintenance capabilities; or agree to allow the US government and US company to be responsible for the operation, pilots and maintenance – with secondary UK oversight only (air traffic control integration etc).
2 – Certification of ‘Spaceplanes’ – Currently, there are no agreed European rules for the operation of ‘spaceplanes’, as they neither fall into the category of aircraft or spacecraft. As international law on their operation is unlikely to be agreed in the short term, the UK should seek to drive discussions and regulatory developments at the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) in seeking to create either a short-term UK specific measure only; or seek to ensure EASA designates spaceplanes as ‘experimental’ while medium-long term regulations are finalised.
3 – Location Analysis & Consultation – The UK government and the CAA identified 8 locations in the UK which could feasibly be used for spaceplane operations – of which all have long runways (or ones that could be lengthened) and are away from significant residential areas. Whilst a number of these locations could end up as a ‘spaceports’, data analysis work on the climate, wind direction, environmental profile and ease of infrastructure access needs to be carried out before any development can begin. It is likely that for 2018, a spaceport would have the necessary regulatory framework surrounding it to begin operations, but that it would have the desired access levels or large facilities to ensure consistent operations. Any location proposals would also need to include significant input from the local population at every step of the development process.
The UK Space agency and industry have already achieved significant progress in working towards developing solutions to overcome these barriers, with other national governments and industries increasingly willing to cooperate due to the growth and trading opportunities available. However, the pace of development required will need to increase significantly over the next few years, with concrete government proposals outlined at regular internals, in order to ensure the 2018 target is reached successfully.
