Guest: Dr. Christopher (Chris) Newman. Topics: British space law, policy & space programs. Please direct all comments and questions regarding Space Show programs/guest(s) to the Space Show blog, http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. Comments and questions should be relevant to the specific Space Show program. Written Transcripts of Space Show programs are a violation of our copyright and are not permitted without prior written consent, even if for your own use. We do not permit the commercial use of Space Show programs or any part thereof, nor do we permit editing, YouTube clips, or clips placed on other private channels & websites. Space Show programs can be quoted, but the quote must be cited or referenced using the proper citation format. Contact The Space Show for further information. In addition, please remember that your Amazon purchases can help support The Space Show/OGLF. See www.onegiantleapfoundation.org/amazon.htm. For those listening to archives using live365.com and rating the programs, please email me as to why you assign a specific rating to the show. This will help me bring better programming to the audience. We welcomed Chris Newman to the show to discuss British space policy, programs, their space industry and British space law. During the first segment of our 88 minute program, Dr. Newman talked about space law and the space industry within the UK. At times we compared British space law with that in the U.S., talked about the British interest in commercial space, space entrepreneurism and British government space as opposed to commercial space within the country. As you will hear, British space is more about business and returns than government policy. We also talked about social media and its value with some criticisms and supportive comments from me. Mike Listner called and we did some comparisons with the British space law perspectives compared to American space law perspectives. A listener asked if the British were fearful or concerned about the Chinese program and if they thought we might be in a space race with China. Chris had interesting things to say in response to this question. Chris talked about the role of the European Space Agency (ESA), competition from SpaceX with the Arianne rockets, and the ISS. Toward the end of our segment, Alex emailed a question about the impact of our ITAR regulations on the British space, science, and technology industry. In the second segment, I asked Chris how British citizens influence their government for space policy and matters as compared to what we do in the States. Chris did explain the British system to us which is quite different , including their budget process. Later I asked if the British government and people were enthusiastic about space companies, including Skylon with Reaction Engines. You might be surprised by his response, especially when I asked if he thought the desired Skylon funding was possible. We also talked proposed British spaceports and the possibility of British regulations on their developing space industry. Later, George emailed in to ask if various segments of the British government competed for funding similar to what happens with the discretionary items in our budget. Chris explained the process in more detail but the short answer was no as their budget process is quite different from ours. Another listener asked more questions about competition in Europe from SpaceX. Chris had much to say about this. Other subjects discussed included a guess as to what future space missions will look like from the British perspective, more on the threat from NEOs, the global launch rate and Arianne making unrealistic market share projections, and the militarization and weaponization of space. Near the end, we talked about commercial space balloon/airship projects like World View. As for 2015 for British space, Christ told us to be aware of the May elections as that may set the tone for the space debate and programs for the future. We agreed to follow up with Chris after the election to check on this. Please post your comments/questions on The Space Show blog above. You can reach Dr. Chris Newman through me at drspace@thespaceshow.com.