Ljubljana - The parliament passed on Wednesday the act on the supervision of space activities, which will regulate space activities in the country and set up a register of space objects. The legislation was drawn up due to a rapid development in space technologies in recent years.

Slovenia became an associate member of the European Space Agency (ESA) in 2016, Slovenian companies and institutions have started to actively develop satellites and other space objects in recent years, and two Slovenian satellites were launched in 2020.

As the Economy Ministry State Secretary Simon Zajc told the MPs before the vote on Wednesday, the new legislation addresses key issues and lays the foundations for further development of the Slovenian space sector, which "may be small, but shows great promise and potential to grow".

Two more Slovenian satellites are expected to be launched this year.

One of the key solutions in the space activities act is a permit for carrying out any space activities in Slovenia, which will be granted to projects that are safe and do not cause any harm to either Earth or space.

In line with international rules, all objects launched into space must be entered into a space objects registry. Since Slovenia previously had no such registry, the act has now set it up.

The act also provides that the management of any space facility may be transferred only with the prior written authorisation of the Economy Ministry, subject to a reassessment of compliance with certain conditions. The reason for this is to maintain control over specific space facilities and objects.