Space Insurance in NewSpace: risks, regulations, market

Abstract:

Space insurance is being reshaped by the NewSpace transition: more missions, faster development cycles, smaller satellites, proliferating constellations, and a rapidly evolving risk landscape. This 90-minute seminar explores how space insurance has adapted to these changes, connecting technical mission risks with legal obligations and market practice.
The session begins with a brief historical lens, tracing the evolution of risk-transfer mechanisms from early maritime contracts to today’s aerospace and space insurance, highlighting what has remained constant and what has fundamentally changed as technology-driven risk accelerated. It then provides an integrated view of mission lifecycle risks, from pre-launch manufacturing, integration, and testing, through launch failure scenarios, in-orbit anomalies and collision exposure, to end-of-life operations including controlled re-entry, passivation, and compliance with debris-mitigation guidelines.
A dedicated segment examines the Italian and international legal framework, with a focus on UN treaty-based State responsibility, national authorization and licensing approaches, and how mandatory insurance requirements shape coverage design and operator accountability.

Bibliography:

Giraldi, L. (2025). Space Economy SEWA-Start, Evolve, or Walk Away. International Series in Advanced Management Studies.
Fino, I. (2026) Law 89/2025: the Space of private operators. Civil liability profiles, in Diritto di Internet - ANVUR Class A journal (Italy)

Short Bio:

Luca Giraldi is a researcher in business management and marketing at the University of Turin. His work focuses on the space economy, digital transformation, entrepreneurship and technology transfer. He teaches courses on big data and entrepreneurship and is recognised for his research on innovative business models and technology-driven markets.

Online attendance: 

Information on remote participation can be requested by sending an e-mail to dn_sst@unitn.it