Orbital operator ground stations policy updated and new guidance published

As part of our efforts to improve efficiency in licensing, we’ve updated our policy on ground stations for orbital operator licences. From 27 July 2026 licences will no longer include a list of approved ground stations, and licensees won’t need to ask for licence variations to add new ground stations.

Operators whose existing licences still have conditions identifying their approved ground stations should get in touch with the CAA Space Regulation Operations team when they wish to add new ground stations.

Guidance on this change can be under the ground stations section of the Orbital operator webpage.