Space race!
We examine the future of the UK space industry.
that money is actually being sent to places now,” he said. “The only bad thing about this initiative is it’s a bit late, and a bit small-scale. If they really want to do it seriously, they should be investing more and going at a much faster pace.”
Finding new friends
This may not be a problem money can solve, argues Professor Smith. Space is an international club, and we need membership. “Going it alone, even with resources, isn’t the same as being part of a club where you can cherry-pick around Europe for the best people and the best in industry to do particular jobs,” he said. “That’s a worry, in particular for space science. We’re not big enough to be out there in the cold; we need to be collaborating with our European partners.”
There are, of course, other markets, notably the US. But that comes with challenges of its own, said Bleddyn. “If Britain is going to get close to the military-industrial complex of the US, with companies like Boeing, the ITAR regime might cause problems for British space industry.” ITAR is the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, which limit where products developed for military use can be sold or bought.
“If the UK is going to be doing more with Lockheed Martin and other US satellite companies, that might put more restrictions on what Britain can do,” he explained. “ITAR means a lot of American satellite components and systems can’t be sold on the market, because they’re classed as munitions or weapons-grade systems. That might cause problems with how much Britain could open up its spaceports… if it keeps getting close to the American military-industrial complex.”
Micro success
While spaceports alone might not be enough to prop up the British space industry, there’s plenty we are good at — and there are areas where the Scottish and Cornish launch pads could help.
It may come as a surprise, but Britain specialises and leads at building small satellites. “The rest of the EU and US are behind Britain at small satellites and manufacturing, but they have the resources to catch up in the next ten or 15 years,” warned Bleddyn. “Britain needs to stay ahead of that curve, and keep its niche strengths, as that’s the only way small space economies maintain their position.”
Orbex was one of the beneficiaries of government funds, alongside Lockheed Martin. It was handed £5.5 million to boost its plans to use cheap and efficient rockets to send small satellites into space from the Sutherland port. By 2021, it aims to launch its Prime rocket, which the company claims emits 90% less carbon than rivals and won’t leave orbital debris behind. CEO Chris Larmour said in a government-issued statement that it hopes to “transform the UK into an important hub for commercial space launch operations”.
While we face what Smith describes as an “uncertain future”, Britain at least has a good starting point. “At the end of the day, the UK is extremely well placed in space – we play far above our place in space, and we just need to play this carefully.”