Launching ahead: key insights from the House of Commons space industry briefing

On 30 June 2025, the UK House of Commons Library published a new Research Briefing titled “The UK Space Industry”. The briefing provides an overview of the status of the UK space industry for parliamentarians and highlights the government’s recognition of the significance of the industry.

The briefing is divided into the following four sections:

   1. Overview of the UK space industry

This section reviews the size and types of space activities undertaken in the UK, as well as the government’s funding and investments to date. The key takeaways are as follows:

• The industry is highly valuable (£18.9bn when it was last measured in 2023 – the results of a second survey carried out in October 2024 are expected shortly) and has a sizable direct contribution to the UK economy (£7.2bn, or 38% of industry income).
• The industry directly employs a considerable number of people (52,000), the majority of whom are highly skilled (80% holding Bachelors’ degrees or higher).
• The government’s investment in space is extensive and is growing, with more money now devoted to launch and debris removal projects (e.g. £20m allocated to Orbex to build and launch a rocket from Scotland).

The budget of the UK Space Agency (“UKSA”) is sizable (£647m) and the majority of this is spent in connection with the UK’s participation in the European Space Agency (“ESA”), with the UKSA announcing in 2022 that it was committing to investing £1.6bn in ESA over the next five years.

This section of the briefing also confirms that industry is moving away from using “upstream” and “downstream” classifications for space activities.  Instead, more specific categorisations are now used, including space manufacturing, space operations, in-space economy, space applications and ancillary services.

   2. Overview of the UK space industry

This section provides a rundown of the various consultations, reviews and strategies published by governmental bodies on the topic of space in recent years as part of a “Space Landscape” review.

It highlights the UK’s National Space Strategy, published in September 2021 and covers the follow-up report (the National Space Strategy in Action) published in July 2023 by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and the Ministry of Defence, which set out the government’s achievements to date in delivering the National Space Strategy. It also covers the Space Industrial Plan published in March 2024, and the Space Regulatory Review carried out in May 2024.

The briefing does not, however, refer to the Industrial Strategy published on 23 June 2025.  This identified space as one of the key “high-growth” sectors that are most important for the UK.  For more information on space’s place within the Industrial Strategy please see our recent blog post here.

   3. The Space Industry Act 2018 and regulations

This section provides a high-level overview of the legal and regulatory framework governing the space industry in the UK. 

Starting with the Outer Space Treaty 1967, the briefing traces the implementation of the foundational space treaties into UK law through the Outer Space Act 1986 before moving onto the overhaul of the UK’s domestic space legislation through the Space Industry Act 2018 and the associated secondary legislation.

The briefing provides a handy update on the status of the Space Industry (Indemnities) Bill, which will require the Civil Aviation Authority to specify an indemnity limit when issuing licences under the Space Industry Act 2018.  This is a private members’ bill that was first launched under the previous government and that has now been resurrected in the current parliamentary session. The briefing confirms that the bill was considered in committee on 18 June 2025 and is now back in the House of Commons for the report stage.

   4. International outlook 

This section contextualises the UK space industry internationally and emphasises the need for cooperation on an international scale. It covers the UK’s continuing membership of ESA and highlights examples of international collaboration between the UK and other countries beyond Europe.  For example, this section covers the UK and Australia Space Bridge Framework Arrangement signed in February 2021, as well as the “blueprint” agreed with New Zealand in October 2024 for the removal and servicing of operational satellites.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the briefing does not cover the EU Space Act, the draft of which was published a few days before the briefing on 25 June 2025. The EU Space Act is a crucial piece of legislation intended to provide a regulatory framework for space activities at an EU level, including (non-exhaustively) major financial penalties for breaches of safety and sustainability rules. Although the EU Space Act will not apply directly to the UK, the UK’s continuing participation in ESA, along with the inherently global nature of the space industry, means that the UK government will be tracking the progress of the proposed legislation carefully.

Why does this matter?

Although it is relatively high-level, the briefing provides a helpful overview for parliamentarians interested in the UK’s space industry. It is also a useful introductory resource for the broader public and any stakeholders with an interest or involvement in the space industry.

The publication of the briefing demonstrates a growing appreciation that the UK’s legislators need a better understanding of the space industry.  Given the rapidly evolving nature of the sector, it will be interesting to see how legislators, regulators, and actors across the private and public spheres might continue to collaborate to shape the industry in the upcoming years and months.

On 3 July 2025, Burges Salmon co-hosted a “Space Technologies Showcase” panel event with Codex, featuring leaders and disrupters from across the UK space industry. Please see further details of the event here.

This article was written by Anusha Kasture and Patrick Bettle.