US and Britain enter commercial spaceflight partnership

The United States and Britain entered into a commercial spaceflight partnership agreement Thursday with the aim to launch cheaper, quicker and more streamlined spaceflight operations.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and his British counterpart, Grant Shapps, signed the agreement at Maryland's Smithsonian Institution, London's Department for Transport said in a statement Friday.

Under the agreement, the two nations agree to work together to boost opportunities for British and U.S. companies to launch missions from either countries' spaceports through reducing red tape and regulatory obstacles, it said.

Specifically, the agreement removes duplication for licensing between the two countries for commercial space activities, reducing costs and procedure burdens while seeking to maintain a high-level of safety standards.

"Commercial space travel is growing swiftly and it's our responsibility to ensure that these innovations advance safely, encouraging them to develop in ways that benefit us all," Buttigieg said. "We're proud to launch this partnership with the United Kingdom to bring more of the benefits of commercial space travel to our workers, businesses and communities."

Britain's Department for Transport called the agreement a "landmark partnership" that will reduce London's reliance on other countries to launch British-made and -operated satellites.

London has been seeking to bolster is space industry, which supports some 47,000 jobs, as it nears its first-ever launch from home soil at SpacePort Cornwall later this year.

"This transformational partnership is one giant leap for both countries as we prepared for an exciting new era of spaceflight to lift off," Shapps said. "As we look beyond the UK's first planned spaceflight later this year, I look forward to seeing the innovations and opportunities skyrocket thanks to this collaboration."

Source: United Press International

Related Links
United States Department of Transportation
Rocket Science News at Space-Travel.Com

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Landmark partnership between the US and UK to launch new era of spaceflight
London, UK (SPX) May 13, 2022
Future spaceflight will be made easier and cheaper, following a landmark partnership with the United States to help cut red tape and boost opportunities in the UK, signed by the Transport Secretary this week in Washington. Transport Secretary Grant Shapps and US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg signed a declaration on 11 May 2022 to work together on future commercial spaceflight missions, in the iconic Smithsonian Institution. The partnership will help launch cheaper, quicker and more ... read more