SPACE WEEK: WHAT THE SPACEPORT CAN DO FOR WEST
In part 2 of our Space Week special, Martin Freeman looks at the reasons behind the new space race and what it means for the region
THE final frontier is being explored and exploited from Cornwall as the county builds on its reputation as a key part of the UK space sector.
Goonhilly Earth Station is a continuing to play a role with new ventures that add to its worldwide renown from the early days of man’s forays beyond our home planet when the communications dishes on the Lizard tracked some of the first satellites in the early 1960s and beamed pictures back from the Apollo 11 moon landing 50 years ago.
‘From satnavs to phones we are constantly using space technology systems’ DONNA LYNDSAY, ESA
The privately owned centre is expanding its commercial satellite communication services and is leading the way on private sector deep space communications. Clients include the American and European space agencies, Nasa and ESA, the UK Space Agency and the private US company, SpaceX.
On the opposite coast Cornwall Airport Newquay is selected to be the UK’s first horizontal launch Spaceport. The project has secured over £7 million from the UK Space Agency, £0.5m from the Cornwall & Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership and next week Cornwall Council’s cabinet will consider a £12m injection.
Spaceport is needed because of the explosion in the number of small satellites that are in orbit. In the last two years more than 600 have been sent up, but not from the UK despite this country being the world’s biggest builder of small satellites,
More satellites are needed because of our increasing dependency on the benefits they bring, according to Donna Lyndsay of the European Space Agency (ESA), based at the University of Exeter.
“From within our Satnavs to our mobile phones we are constantly using space technology such as the satellite global Navigation Systems for position navigation and timing and even earth observation in apps such as Google maps. We also need to use earth observation satellites which tell us everything from the weather to plastic pollution in our Oceans.
“More and more satellite constellations are being deployed to meet our need to gather more insights on our planet, but also to enable us to communicate via satellite communication technologies such as OneWeb which aims to enable everyone to have high speed and reliable access to the internet and video streaming services.”
The growth area is in small satellites, where British manufacturers dominate the world. Thousands will be put into space in the coming years as private space companies expand. The UK does not have a launch site, but Cornwall Spaceport is set to fill that gap. Virgin Orbit plans to operate a horizontal launch service, using a Boeing 747 plane to carry a rocket to 35,000 feet above the Atlantic. The launch vehicle will release before carrying the satellite payload into orbit.
Cornwall Airport Newquay was ideally situated for horizontal space launch because of its long runway and proximity to the Atlantic, said Ms Lyndsay whose role as the ESA regional ambassador is to help businesses developing new, sustainable services using Space-based technology.
“It also has an emergent space cluster supported by a highly creative and driven regional growth team who continually attract new companies to the region through the Spaceport interest, which range from Satellite Launch to service providers using space data.
“What this means for Cornwall and the wider South West is new companies and new opportunities not just for the new generation but also retraining opportunities for the current working population. The companies need services and this will lead to a supporting supply chain from technicians to cleaners to builders. What this means for Cornwall is a leading role in this new space launch industry for the UK