On 11 June 2025 , the Italian Parliament approved the Law on Space Economy (Law 13 June 2025, no. 89 ) marking a significant achievement for the State’s ambitions in the space sector. The Law entered into force on 25 June 2025 , after its publication on the Italian Official Journal (OJ, General Series, no. 144, 24 June 2025 ).
Such legislation establishes a legal framework to regulate the activities of private operators in outer space , including the establishment of an authorisation regime and the definition of safety standards and liabilities, thereby promoting sustainable practices .
Furthermore, the law identifies measures to promote investments in the space industry, encouraging small and medium-sized enterprises and start-ups to play a more active role in this sector. In this sense, the chapter of the law dedicated to the space economy aims to incentivize the development of innovative infrastructures and technologies, also through the definition of public-private partnerships.
With the growing importance of space in various fields, including telecommunications, environmental monitoring, and navigation, this Law enables Italy to fully comply with international obligations . It also reflects the national commitment to harnessing the potential of the space industry for the benefit of society and the economy .
The Sapienza OSL Team expresses great satisfaction for this remarkable achievement, after years of commitment to legal research and awareness regarding the need for Italian legislation on space activities to implement the international obligations deriving from the treaties to which Italy is a party, particularly Article IV of the 1967 Outer Space Treaty.
Background and Preparatory Work
The debate on the Italian national legislation arises from a 3-year research project , started in 2021 and jointly conducted by Sapienza University of Rome (OSL Team), Fondazione Leonardo-Civiltà delle Macchine, and SEE Lab Bocconi , under the supervision of Sergio Marchisio , along with Luciano Violante and Simonetta Di Pippo .
The research group held five multi-stakeholder meetings at the Chamber of Deputies from December 2022 to December 2023 to gather input and suggestions.
In September 2021, the group presented its Report on Space Economy, Space Industry and Space Law Minister of Enterprise and Made in Italy and the Delegated Authority for Space and Aerospace policies Adolfo Urso . This Report – Italy’s first of its kind – analyses the legal context of the Italian space sector and its future evolution to identify the main elements of an Italian legislation for space activities.
In the context of this research, the Sapienza Working Group, with the support of the other members of the research team, elaborated a Draft Enabling Law , annexed to the Report . The proposal aimed to regulate the activities of private operators in outer space, establishing a clear and flexible regulatory framework that encourages the growth of space operators and the Italian space industry, while fostering innovation, competitiveness, and ensuring safe and sustainable space activities.
The findings of the research group, along with the process and main elements that culminated in the drafting of the Draft Enabling Law, are presented in the volume Space Economy, Space Industry, Space Law
In light of Italy’s renewed interest, an institutional table launched by the Ministry of Enterprise and Made in Italy (MIMIT) in collaboration with the Space and Aerospace Policy Office (UPSA) of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers started working on an Italian space legislation, until a second table was set up.
On 20 June 2024 , the Council of Ministers, based on the proposal of the Minister Adolfo Urso, adopted a Draft Law titled “Provisions Relating to Space Economy” .
The proposal was presented to the Chamber of Deputies by the President of the Council of Ministers, Giorgia Meloni, on 10 September 2024 and adopted on the first reading by the Chamber on 6 March 2025. It was subsequently adopted in the second reading by the Senate on 11 June 2025 .
Multi-stakeholder meetings at the Chamber of Deputies Presentation of the Report to the Minister Adolfo Urso
An Overview of the Law
Structure and content
The Law is divided into 5 Titles, which are in turn subdivided into chapters and articles: General provisions (Art. 1-2); Provisions on the exercise of space activities by space operators (Art. 3-14); Registration of space objects (Art. 15-17); Liability of space operators and the State (Art. 18-21); Measures for the space economy (Art. 22-31).
Subject matter and scope of application
The Law regulates operators’ access to space and promotes investment in the New Space Economy to increase national competitiveness, as well as the development of scientific research and skills in the space sector (Art. 1).
It applies to space activities conducted by operators (“a natural or legal person who conducts, or intends to conduct, under his or her responsibility, space activities ”) of any nationality in Italian territory and by national operators outside Italian territory (Art. 3).
The Law does not apply to space and related activities conducted by the Ministry of Defence , Intelligence and Security Bodies (Art. 28).
Authorisation and continuous supervision
The Law regulates essential authorisation elements and refers to the detailed regulation in one or more decrees, that are to be adopted (Art. 13).
Particularly, it regulates the private operators’ obligation to obtain authorisation for the exercise of space activities , except when they have been authorised by another State with which Italy has concluded an international treaty or when the operator’s foreign authorisation is recognised .
According to Art. 4, para. 2, the authorisation may relate to a single space activity , several space activities of the same type , or several interconnected space activities of different types . The launch of a constellation requires a single authorisation .
Then, it regulates objective and general subjective requirements of space activity (Art. 5 and 6, infra).
The Responsible Authority for authorising the space activity is the President of the Council of Ministers or the Authority responsible for space or aerospace policies (Art. 2, lett. b).
Both ASI and COMINT (Interministerial Committee for Space and Aerospace Research Policies) participate in the authorisation procedure (Art. 7).
ASI receives the application and conducts a technical investigation to determine the requirements through access or inspections, as necessary.
COMINT investigates the non-occurrence of reasons for exclusion of authorisation, namely the 3 cases in which the authorisation is denied a priori (Art. 7, par. 7):
Whether the exercise of the space activity is likely to constitute or facilitate actual or potential serious harm to the essential interests of defence, national security, and the continuity of international relations or to the protection of critical tangible and intangible infrastructure, national cyber protection, or cybersecurity.
If there are links between the space operator to be authorised and other third States or territories which, also taking into account the official positions of the EU, do not comply with the principles of democracy or the rule of Law , or which threaten international peace and security or support criminal or terrorist organisations or are otherwise connected to them .
If the purpose of the space activity is contrary to the fundamental interest of the Republic .
COMINT also formulates an authorisation proposal, on which the Responsible Authority will then decide.
The Law regulates the modification, suspension, and loss of authorisation, as well as the possibility of transferring one or more authorised space activities , or the ownership, management, or control of a space object . No distinction is made between a transfer to an Italian or a foreign operator (Art. 8-10).
ASI is the Supervisory Authority . It has the power to access authorised space activity and space object-related documents and information held by the operator/owner and conduct premises and sites’ inspections (Art. 11).
ASI can impose administrative sanctions (payment of a sum from €150,000 to €500,000 if the space operator and owner hinder the supervisory activity). The Law also provides for imprisonment from 3 to 6 years and a fine from €20,000 to €50,000 if the operator was not authorised or the authorisation has expired (Art. 12).
Art. 14 identifies ASI as the sole sector authority for technical regulation .
Registration of space objects
The Law reorganises the matter of registering space objects , repealing paragraphs 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 of Article 3 of Law 153 of 12 July 2005.
It regulates that the space object in respect to which Italy is a Launching State is registered in the National Registry unless already enlisted in the Registry of another State. ASI is responsible for the custody and updating of the National Registry , which is public and can be consulted online (Art. 15).
ASI also maintains a Complementary Registry to appoint a space object not registered in Italy, of which an operator of Italian nationality acquires management or ownership in orbit or on a celestial body, regardless of whether the jurisdiction and control over the object change . It also regulates the mandatory and additional information that the operator shall communicate to the ASI for entry into the national or complementary register as appropriate (Art. 16-17).
The Law entrusts the COMINT , together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation , with fulfilling the international obligations provided for by the Registration Convention of 1975 (Art. 15, par. 5).
Simultaneously, the Responsible Authority has no role in the registration process.
Operator and State liability
The Law regulates the liability for damage , establishing that the operator is responsible for damage caused as a result of always liable to compensate for damage caused to third parties on the Earth’s surface, as well as to aircraft in flight and persons and property on board them (Art. 18).
The operator is liable for up to €100 million (Art. 18). It forfeits the benefit of the limit if he carries out the space activity without authorisation, has violated the obligations set out in the authorisation order, has caused damage intentionally or with gross negligence, and does not have insurance or other financial guarantees.
The operator shall enter into insurance contracts or other suitable financial guarantees to cover damage resulting from space activities, with a maximum coverage of €100 million per claim . However, an implementing decree may identify up to 3 risk bands with gradually lower ceilings, which cannot be less than €50 million or €20 million in the case of research activities and innovative start-ups (Art. 21).
Most national space legislation sets a cap of €60 million, while Portugal’s space legislation (2019) caps it at € 50 million.
The operator’s liability is excluded if heproves that the damage was caused exclusively and intentionally by a third party whose act could not have been prevented or exclusively by the injured party .
The State is liable for damages caused to third parties , which are not compensated because of the operator’s limitation, the operator’ or insurance company’s ascertained state of insolvency, and the invalidity or lack of guarantee (Art. 18).
The State exercises an action for recourse against the operator of the space activity that has caused damage to persons or property up to the limit (€100 million) or for the entirety of the damage if the limit does not apply (Art. 19).
The Law incorporates, leaving it unchanged, Law 23 of 25 January 1983 (Art. 20 – damage caused on Italian territory by foreign Launching States).
Space economy measures
The Law regulates multiple measures, including:
preparation of a National Plan for the Space Economy (at least 5 years), including analysis, assessment and quantification of the space sector’s needs to identify investments financeable through public resources and private contributions (Art. 22);
multi-year Space Economy Fund (initial allocation: €85 million for 2024, €160 million for 2025 and €50 million for 2026) to promote space activities, foster the growth of the market for space-based innovative products and services (Art. 23);
special procurement rules to facilitate access of SMEs and start-ups to public contracts and promote space activities and technologies (Art. 27).
The Way Forward
The Law on Space Economy is expected to set the adequate legal framework for enhancing Italy’s position in the global space landscape by setting safety and sustainability standards for space operations, promoting investments, and fostering innovation within the sector. In particular, the measures outlined specifically for the space economy aim to incentivise the development of cutting-edge technologies while encouraging collaboration between public and private entities.
However, to achieve the ambitious objective of this legislation, it will be crucial to address several challenges related to its implementation . One or more decrees are needed to set, in line with the good practices developed at the international level, the conditions and requirements to ensure a high level of safety, resilience and sustainability of space activities, the requirements that the operator must possess and information to be shared within the authorisation procedure, the criteria for applying administrative sanctions; procedures relating to the exercise of the supervisory function, identification of risk thresholds for grading insurance ceilings; modalities for the management, use and dissemination of space data.
In addition, such regulations shall define the characteristics and technical requirements of the spaceport dedicated to the launch or takeoff, reentry, or landing, or to ground or in-flight operations of a suborbital or orbital vehicle system, as well as the methods of carrying out the operations mentioned above.
Coordinating the interests of diverse stakeholders and navigating the complexities of international collaborations will also be critical in maximising the law’s potential to advance the Italian ambitions in the space sector .
Read and download the Italian Law on Space Economy here !
