UK Space Agency rebuts 'white elephant' spaceport fears

“Increasingly desirable” orbit access and new rocket regulations will enable the UK’s first commercial space flight services “over the next few years,” a space agency director has said.

A new £50m spaceport launch fund could turn “opportunity into a reality”, said Ross James, director of commercial space at the UK Space Agency (UKSA), after a satellite engineer told Professional Engineering the UK could be left with a “white elephant” spaceport.

Speaking to PE yesterday, the founder of satellite company ThumbSat claimed it was not clear the money would be accurately targeted. Other issues could limit the UK’s suitability for major launches, added Shaun Whitehead.

“The geographical and legal environment is not ideal in the UK for large scale flights,” he said. “There is a high risk that legal and safety issues, and a lack of tourist market, could leave us with a white elephant spaceport.”

However, James told PE that the UKSA’s ambition is for “home-grown launch markets” to help businesses access a market worth £10bn over the next 10 years. “The UK has the right geography to access increasingly desirable orbits, a thriving space industry ready to support and exploit new opportunities and world-class facilities to test, develop and deliver new satellite technology and services,” he said.

Although the UK is far from desirable orbits at the equator, the space agency said it is well placed to access valuable polar and sub-synchronous ­– gradually drifting east or west – orbits. These are popular for many new small satellite constellations planned for the next 10 years, the agency said.

Subject to an approved business case, the agency said its £50m programme will provide grant funding to build the capabilities needed for the first commercial space missions from new UK spaceports. Focusing on small satellite launch and sub-orbital flights, the money will also fund a market strategy to develop a “globally competitive spaceflight sector”.

New government regulations will also help enable a “range” of launch technologies, said James. “From vertically-launched rockets to air-launched spaceplanes and rockets, UK industry has the skills and expertise to participate in all these activities, and over the next few years we expect to see the first of these commercial launch services established in the UK.”

The most common types of flights and launches will depend on what companies use UK spaceports, the agency added. Options could also include sub-orbital spaceplanes and very high-altitude balloons.