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The Kármán Line

The Kármán Line

Written by: Haymarket Media Group Ltd
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Interested in the business of space? Dr Alice Bunn, former-international director of UK Space Agency and now president of UKspace, helps you identify investment opportunities, cut through policy and regulation, assemble your supply chains and get stuff done.

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25139770-07fc-11f1-890f-ff521e937737
Astronomy & Space Science Economics Political Science Politics & Government Science
Episodes
  • Space sustainability: Turning orbital debris into a national niche
    Jun 3 2026

    The idea of 14,000 satellites in low earth orbit sounds pretty scary but in context there’s over a million cars on the road in the UK alone and low earth orbit is a really big 3D space. So, should people be worried about space sustainability? Shouldn’t they just relax and remember there’s loads and loads of space out there?


    Or should they still be scared? What happens when satellites do cross paths? If they’re all part of the SpaceX Starlink constellation they’ll talk to each other instantaneously and get out of the way. But what if the contact is with a satellite from another country? Is it fair to say they’re on the equivalent of email or telephone? And what if they do collide? Will it be like the experiment in 2007 when the Chinese fired a missile at a defunct weather satellite? On the one hand, “great shot lads, you’ve hit something moving at 4km per second” but on the other, “you’ve probably caused a millennia worth of debris problems”.


    If it’s within our capabilities to move bikes and cars and trains and planes around the world in an ordered fashion, shouldn’t it be well within human capabilities to extend the use of space? Is there a role for the UK in being “the AA” of space and is the UK-New Zealand debris removal agreement a useful step down this road?


    Join Alice and Jonners as they talk to Phil Buckley, partner at the Public Service Consultants and a specialist in space sustainability, about the perils and pitfalls of satellite traffic jams and an opportunity that the UK “could be absolutely brilliant at”.


    Contributors:

    Alice Bunn, President of UKspace

    Dr Alice Bunn OBE FIMechE FRAeS CEng | LinkedIn

    UKspace: Overview | LinkedIn

    Jonathan Daves, The Karman Line

    Jonathan Daves | LinkedIn


    Phil Buckley, Partner at the PSC

    Phil Buckley | LinkedIn


    Key topics covered:

    • Space sustainability
    • The Kessler effect
    • Space debris
    • Starlink
    • UK-New Zealand agreement
    • Space traffic
    • The Fengyun weather satellite
    • Refuelling
    • Servicing

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    28 mins
  • Space comms: why rockets really aren’t the story
    May 18 2026

    Why do people in the space sector think they have a comms problem and yet the public at large think space is sexy? Should we stop evangelising about the technology that gets stuff into space rather than the core marketing message? After all, KFC is about the chicken not the trucks that deliver it.


    What are the leadership opportunities in the UK from launch in Scotland and what is the “environmental conscience” behind that endeavour? And how did we end up with kids in St Austell working on global lunar space missions on the back of a famous “failure”?


    Join Alice, Jess Ratty from Halo Global and John Harrington UK editor of PR Week, as they confront the introspection of space and figure out better ways of confounding British understatement and amazing a world of would-be investors.


    Contributors:

    Alice Bunn, President of UKspace

    Dr Alice Bunn OBE FIMechE FRAeS CEng | LinkedIn

    UKspace: Overview | LinkedIn

    Jess Ratty, Founder and Leader, Halo Global

    Jess Ratty | LinkedIn


    John Harrington, UK Editor, PR Week

    John Harrington | LinkedIn

    PR Week UK


    Key topics covered:

    • Communications
    • Marketing
    • Leadership opportunities
    • Saxa Vord launch
    • Environment
    • Spaceport Cornwall
    • Virgin Orbit’s “Start me Up” mission

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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    35 mins
  • Space law: are existing legal frameworks fit for purpose?
    May 7 2026

    With a mind boggling 1.8 million satellites filed for launch before 2030 how are we going to manage the congested and contested realm of space? We know about warfare in space but how about lawfare in space? Who actually owns the moon? More pointedly, who owns the resources of the moon? How useful are the UK’s regulatory frameworks and how do you dispose of a fridge in low earth orbit?


    Join Alice, Jonners and international lawyer Joanne Wheeler, “the single powerhouse behind many of the space business successes”, as they mull on the legal challenges of an exponentially growing race for space.


    Contributors:

    Alice Bunn, President of UKspace

    Dr Alice Bunn OBE FIMechE FRAeS CEng | LinkedIn

    UKspace: Overview | LinkedIn

    Jonathan Daves, The Karman Line

    Jonathan Daves | LinkedIn


    Joanne Wheeler, Managing Partner, Alden Legal

    Joanne Wheeler | LinkedIn


    Key topics covered:

    • International law
    • Regulatory frameworks
    • Moon mining
    • Moonrise project
    • Space congestion
    • Dual use

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    38 mins
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