The UK Space Agency is inviting ideas to help identify priorities for future regulatory sandboxes and other innovative regulatory tools/approaches. This builds on the UK government’s implementation of the Space Regulatory Review (SRR) and our commitment to ensuring our future regulatory regime continues to enable the sector to thrive and grow.
Regulation is a critical enabler of innovation, investment and growth. We are committed to developing a regulatory toolkit including sandboxes, testbeds and other approaches to support emerging mission types and enable UK leadership in new markets. Views from the sector on potential priorities or areas of focus will be crucial in helping to shape policy decisions on where these tools could be most effectively deployed.
Please note: this request for information (RFI) is purely for policy development purposes at this stage and is not an indication, or commitment, of any future commercial procedures pertaining to regulatory sandboxes. For the avoidance of doubt, no contractual obligation is expected to arise from this RFI process, and it does not commit the UK Space Agency to pay any costs incurred in the preparation or submission of any response to the RFI. Responding, or failing to respond, to this RFI will not prejudice you from participating in any future calls for information or to tender proposals.
What is a regulatory sandbox?
A regulatory sandbox is a structured environment that brings together industry, government and regulators to explore how regulation applies to emerging technologies and novel mission concepts.
Through simulated scenarios and collaborative workshops, participants identify regulatory challenges, test solutions and generate evidence to inform future policy, guidance and regulation.
Commission
We are seeking ideas for future regulatory sandboxes and other innovative regulatory activities that could address regulatory challenges and unlock growth and investment opportunities across the UK space sector.
Please share ideas using this form
We are particularly interested in proposals where greater regulatory clarity, improved coordination, new guidance or innovative regulatory approaches could deliver benefits across a market segment, technology area or mission class, rather than addressing the needs of a single organisation alone.
To support future policy decisions, it would be helpful if options could consider factors including growth and economic impact; scale and significance of the regulatory challenge; strategic alignment with government priorities; sector-wide benefits; deliverability and feasibility; and need for government intervention.
Collaborative submissions are strongly encouraged.
The deadline for submissions is Wednesday 30 September 2026 to inform prioritisation of activities for FY27/28.
If you do not have an idea at this stage, please keep this opportunity in mind. This is part of our ongoing work over the coming years, and future calls for ideas will follow.
Questions
We recognise that many recipients may be unfamiliar with regulatory sandboxes and similar approaches. The scope of this call is intentionally broad, and we encourage submissions even where the most appropriate regulatory solution has not yet been fully defined.
Given the anticipated volume of responses, we will not be able to respond to individual enquiries. Please use the relevant section of the submission form to highlight any uncertainties and submit your suggestion regardless. All submissions will be reviewed, and we will contact applicants directly where clarification is required.
For further context, we recommend the Executive Summary and RPO Sandbox Scope, Approach & Implementation section (pages 12-19) of the RPO Regulatory Sandbox Stage 1 Report.
Previous and current Regulatory Sandboxes:
- Rendezvous and Proximity Operations (RPO) regulatory sandbox (FY24/25-FY25/26)
- Re-entry regulatory sandbox (FY26/27)
- Multi-mission licensing regulatory sandbox (FY26/27)