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LSA, what is it about?

On 12 September 2018, Luxembourg took another step forward, officially launching the Luxembourg Space Agency. It is not about sending rockets to Mars but rather about providing an attractive business, legal, and regulatory framework to companies and investors to develop this industry in Luxembourg.

  

With a strong political will, the Spaceresources.lu initiative (a platform dedicated to the sector launched in 2016), and the first space mining legislation in the World published in 2017, Luxembourg is regarded worldwide as both a first-mover and a proactive player in this sector. According to a Delano article, 150 space companies have already contacted the Luxembourg Minister of Economy, Etienne Schneider, to establish themselves in Luxembourg.

  

Why is a legal framework required?

Many countries adopt space legislation to:

  • avoid damages caused by private corporations/entities.
  • keep private entities from infringing upon international obligations or endangering national security or diplomatic relations.
  • set out obligations that governments can't simply transfer to private organizations (space treaties).

Luxembourg's space activities are currently governed by :

  • Art. 20 of the Law of 27 July 1991 on electronic media: no one can create or exploit a Luxembourg satellite system without a concession/authorisation from the Luxembourg government. However, this law only applies where Luxembourg frequencies are used.

The Law of 20 July 2017, which is both innovative and unique (as detailed below).

  

The Luxembourg space sector is flourishing but there are many activities that are not covered by these laws, a.o. observation of earth, space exploration, and the refueling and refurbishing of satellites. So a new draft law on space activities is currently being discussed by the Luxembourg Parliament. Here is what you should know about it :

  

Luxembourg, the space to be.

The space sector is raising awareness of Luxembourg among major countries competing within this growing industry, for example :

  • USA: The newAmbassador to Luxembourg, Randy Evans, declares in an interview with Delano, "I think Luxembourg is perfectly positioned to assume an enormous leadership role in the space sector". Coming from an ambassador of the only country which has walked on the moon, this strongly suggests that Luxembourg can reach for the stars!
  • China : The Luxembourg Ministry of Economy signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the China National Space Administration and a cooperation agreement with the National Space Science Center, both in January 2018,
  • Poland, and Czech Republic, both signed a MoU with Luxembourg in October 2018.

More and more foreign private players are also becoming part of the Luxembourg game, ie :

  

So don't forget to watch this space. Aim for the moon, you might land amongst the stars!

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