By the nature of our work, the British Interplanetary Society, a registered charity, works with a number of organisations and international partners.
The Trustees of the charity have considered how we approach ethical considerations.
International partnerships
The BIS seeks advice from the UK Government, via Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office guidance and that from the Department for International Trade. The BIS will not deal with any organisation or individual where sanctions are imposed or recognised by the British government.
Organisations opposed to space travel or who do not adhere to mainstream science
The BIS reserves the right to decline to work with or engage with organisations or individuals who are opposed to the peaceful pursuit of space exploration and space travel, or are for any reason opposed to the work of the BIS. Such engagement would generally only be considered where it provided a material and public opportunity to further debate and science around space travel.
The BIS also reserves the right to turn down engagement with organisations whose work actively goes against mainstream science, including physics or engineering.
Position on other organisations and countries
The BIS keeps this policy under constant review. The Society actively seeks to work with a range of organisations who enhance the understanding and application of space exploration related technologies. However, where an organisation or individual directly goes against the charitable objectives of our organisation, or the values that Council feel appropriate, the Trustees will consider on a case-by-case basis whether to pause or cease any engagement.
Behaviour of Fellows and Members of the Society
The BIS deals with behaviour of Fellows and Members of the Society, separately, under the Bye Laws of the organisation, a copy of which is available at: https://www.bis-space.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/BIS-Bye-laws-2021.pdf
Last reviewed: March 2021