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The claim followed the announcement of a £50m government investment in satellite launch services and low-gravity spaceflights. Revealed by business secretary Greg Clark as he set out the new Industrial Strategy, the funding is aimed at helping new UK spaceports access a global market for launching small satellites worth a potential £10bn over 10 years and offer flights for cutting-edge science.
Building on £99m already invested in the National Satellite Test Facility at Harwell in Oxfordshire, the government hopes the UK Space Agency (UKSA) funding will develop new technologies, infrastructure and services to “establish the UK as a world-leading destination for space launch”.
An “excellent” location, thriving small satellite industry, access to in-demand orbits and “reputation for regulatory excellence” mean the country is well suited, said the government, and it hopes to grow the nation’s share of the global space market from 6.5% to 10% by 2030.
However, while space funding is usually welcome, it is not clear that it will be “accurately targeted,” said Shaun Whitehead, researcher and founder of satellite company ThumbSat. “The geographical and legal environment is not ideal in the UK for large-scale flights, and there is a high risk that legal and safety issues, and a lack of a tourist market, could leave us with a white elephant spaceport,” he said.
Busy airspace and geographical distance from the Equator mean the UK is not necessarily well suited for major launches, he said. Companies such as SpaceX in the US already have a firm position in the market using large rockets to launch satellites or payloads for the International Space Station, but Whitehead said the UK could be suited for much smaller launches.
“We just can’t compete with the big launch service providers from UK soil, but there is a growing demand for the launch of very small satellites,” he said. At Teesside University, Whitehead and fellow staff and students hope to achieve the first ever non-military space launch from the UK next year with a “tiny” rocket aboard a high-altitude balloon.
“It’s not much more powerful or heavy than a firework rocket, but as we will launch from an altitude of 32km, above 99% of the atmosphere, there is very little drag and the rocket will easily coast above 100km – the legal definition of space,” he said. “I think that’s where we can compete – rapid access to space using tiny launch vehicles.”
The project will be a “genuine test” of the will of UK authorities for space launches, said Whitehead.
In the announcement of the £50m investment, the Department for Transport, Civil Aviation Authority and UK Space Agency said they are working together for a “comprehensive regulatory environment” as the space industry bill goes through parliament.
Several sites in England, Wales and Scotland have put themselves forward as potential spaceport hosts.
The UKSA was contacted for comment.
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