Government launches £10m fund for UK commercial space sector

The government has launched a £10 million scheme to incentivise the commercial spaceflight market, expected to be worth £25 billion over the next 20 years.

The government has announced that grants worth £10 million are being made available to help develop commercial launch capability for spaceflight, following the government’s announcement of a timeline for legislation that will facilitate and regulate commercial spaceflight.

As the commercial spaceflight market is estimated to be worth £25 billion over the next 20 years, the government has called for businesses to develop competitive, commercial and safe spaceflight proposals for UK-based satellite launch services and sub-orbital flights.

Jo Johnson, universities and science minister, said: “Spaceflight offers the UK the opportunity to build on our strengths in science, research and innovation. It provides opportunities to expand into new markets, creating highly-skilled jobs and boosting local economies across the country. That is why it is one of the key pillars of our industrial strategy.”

Organisations expected to bid for a share of the funding are likely to be joint enterprises of launch vehicle operators and potential launch sites. The funding must be used to develop spaceflight capabilities, such as building spaceport infrastructure or adapting launch vehicle technology for use in the UK.

The government also announced that it is preparing legislation to develop a safe and competitive regulatory environment for spaceflight. This is in conjunction with the government’s international work to achieve the technical, trade and policy agreements necessary for UK-based launch services, and developing interest from launch customers and operators from around the world.

The aim is to establish a commercial spaceflight market to capture a share of the emerging global market from 2020.