Source · Select Committees · Science, Innovation and Technology Committee
Recommendation 15
15
Rejected
We are concerned that the delay in achieving the first UK launch is partly due...
Recommendation
We are concerned that the delay in achieving the first UK launch is partly due to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) being unable to process licence applications in a timely manner. For this initial set of licence applications, the Department for Transport must provide additional resource to the CAA to ensure that the licensing process does not impede the feasibility of a launch this year. After this, we expect that the application process will become streamlined and therefore the timeline for processing licence applications should be reduced to 3–6 months for all licences by
Government Response Summary
The government states that the CAA has been sufficiently resourced and has worked at the pace of the industry, and that setting an arbitrary target of 3-6 months for licence processing would risk increasing the regulatory burden.
Government Response
Rejected
HM Government
Rejected
The timeline to licensing for any of the licenses required under the Space Industry Act has a range of factors, many of which are not in the control of the regulator and are driven the by readiness and capability of operators and third parties. Since its appointment as the spaceflight regulator in July 2021, the CAA has been resourced sufficiently. It has worked at the pace of industry in the delivery of the licence process this year and we have processes in place to review their performance and resource requirements and make adjustments as needed. UK spaceflight licensing covers a broad range of activities and the timelines are subject to that activity, including its complexity and scope, which can range from single launch approvals to multiple or indefinite approvals. The guidance currently for spaceflight licenses indicates 9–18 months for all applications, which is highly competitive internationally and based on an understanding of the capabilities and plans of the operators in the market and their likely complexity. operators to manage, it is unlikely that industry would be able to meet the requirements for a 3–6 month target for licences from 2024. Setting an arbitrary target would have a significant risk of driving behaviour in the regulator and industry that could significantly increase the regulatory burden, as approvals would need to be far more limited in nature than the current system allows for.