Workshops

The purpose of this workshop is to provide a structured basis for initial expert dialogue on how Europe could approach RPS launch approvals. By comparing U.S. practices with a hypothetical European framework, participants will explore potential institutional responsibilities, technical requirements, and regulatory pathways.

This workshop will bring together specialists in space safety, nuclear regulation, and policy development. The workshop will begin with a summary presentation of the U.S. RPS Launch Approval Process in the form of a matrix highlighting roles and responsibilities of relevant U.S. entities, along with their associated inputs and outputs. This structured overview will serve as the foundation for comparison and discussion. Following this, IAASS will present a mock EU directive, modelled on the U.S. approach but tailored to a European context. The mock directive is used solely as a discussion tool: it outlines hypothetical roles, responsibilities, and tasks, assuming launches from the Kourou spaceport and the existence of European nuclear safety technical requirements. Importantly, the mock directive adopts the formal style of EU legislation, but using “would” instead of “shall,” to encourage factual, focused debate without implying that it represents an actual draft of future law.

This workshop represents a first step toward shaping informed European perspectives on nuclear space safety approvals. For more info contact spacesafety@iaass.org