Consultation begins on new UK space sustainability standards

The UK's national standards body, the British Standards Institution (BSI), has recently published two new draft space sustainability standards for consultation.  The two standards - BSI Flex 1969 v1.0 and BSI Flex 1971 V1.0 - are intended to provide an overarching system for increasing space sustainability across the NewSpace industry in general, and for launch in particular.  The consultations are open until 27 June 2025 and 27 July 2025 respectively.

The new standards are sponsored by the UK Space Agency (UKSA) and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and represent the latest effort by the UK to lead the way in encouraging the development of sustainable practices across the NewSpace industry, both in the UK and further afield.  The importance of this issue is something that has been highlighted repeatedly by the UK Government, most recently in the Space Industrial Plan published in March 2024 and the Space Regulatory Review published in May 2024.  

Each standard contains a number of headline principles relating to a specific element of space sustainability.  In BSI Flex 1969 v1.0, these span the entire lifecycle of a space activity, from design to disposal, and cover important issues like dark and quiet skies, space debris mitigation and collision avoidance.  By contrast, the headline principles contained in BSI Flex 1971 v1.0 are more focused on the specific stages that are directly relevant to launch activities, albeit again covering the entire lifecycle of this particular aspect of space activity.  In each standard, the headline principles are supported by several sub-principles that are more technical and prescriptive in nature.

The development of agreed and widely-applied space sustainability standards is currently a hot topic in the sector.  In the UK in particular, the Earth Space Sustainability Initiative (ESSI), itself funded by the UKSA, is helping to facilitate the adoption of a universal space sustainability standard while also undertaking the considerable task of gathering the various space sustainability standards already in use around the globe and making these available to the industry in one place via a dedicated database.

The BSI draft standards have been prepared with input from organisations and individuals from across the industry and academia, including ESSI.  BSI is now seeking additional input from “industry, scientists, space experts and interested members of the public” on the draft standards to help it refine them before publishing version two of each set of principles in due course.

If you are interested in reviewing and providing feedback on the BFI draft standards, copies can be accessed on BSI's website here (BSI Flex 1969 v1.0) and here (BSI Flex 1971 v1.0).

If you would like to learn more about the legal and regulatory framework governing space in the UK and how it might affect your business, please contact one of the members of our space and satellite team: Chloe Challinor, Patrick Bettle, Justin Barrow or Scott Fyfe.

First-of-their-kind standards drive the long-term environmental sustainability of space activities

https://www.bsigroup.com/en-GB/insights-and-media/media-centre/press-releases/2025/may/bsi-launches-two-new-space-sustainability-standards-for-consultation/