Sweden’s government plans to replace its 1982 Space Act with a new law from 1 July 2027. According to the Swedish National Space Agency, it would then make most permit decisions itself. Today it prepares them for the government.
— Perhaps the most important thing about the new law is that it creates greater predictability, said Nicklas Vabi, the agency’s legal counsel.
A draft bill is out for consultation until 6 November. It names protecting Sweden’s security, foreign and defence interests as an explicit aim of the law. The government would still decide cases where an activity is needed for national security. It could also exempt authorities, NATO and the EU from the permit requirement.
Under the draft, private operators could face penalty fees of up to 2 per cent of global turnover or SEK 100 million, whichever is higher. Liability for damage on Earth would be capped at SEK 600 million per incident.
The agency handles one or two permit cases a year. Defence Minister Pål Jonson expects this to rise to about twenty, the government said in May, at which point it had proposed an extra SEK 14 million for the agency in 2026.