BLAST-OFF TIME FOR UK SPACE £BILLIONS
Big boy Titch is the top dog Huge jobs boost from rocket science
®
BRITAIN’S space industry is taking off and could be worth billions by 2030 while creating thousands of jobs, say experts.
The global space economy is projected to rocket to £400billion per year and the UK has set a target of securing £40bn of it.
It was recently announced that the satellite telecommunications centre at Goonhilly on Cornwall’s Lizard peninsula is to be upgraded to become an Earth Station to handle potential radio traffic with deep space.
And Newquay airport in north Cornwall has been named as the site for Britain’s first spaceport to launch craft into orbit or beyond.
At least 1,000 new jobs are being targeted for the county by 2025 in manufacturing and engineering linked to the space industry. And experts say a a further 8,000 could be created using data collected in space exploration to create new products and services.
The Space Action Plan was unveiled by Cornwall’s Local Enterprise Partnership at the Eden Project.
Head of operations Tim Bagshaw said: “We want Cornwall to be a space industry showcase and there is a tremendous opportunity to make the county synonymous with the global space economy.
“Space has a huge impact on our lives – from communication and entertainment to navigation and climate science.
“It will help tackle some of the biggest challenges facing mankind.”