UK Space Execs Examine National Space Progress at SpaceComm Expo

Melissa Thorpe, head of Spaceport Cornwall, left, and Josh Western of Space Forge, right, discuss the launch landscape in the UK. Photo: Mark Holmes/Via Satellite

FARNBOROUGH, England — The space industry in the U.K. is developing rapidly, with increased focus on the sector due to the recent National Space Strategy unveiled a year ago. The space industry gathered on Wednesday at SpaceCom Expo in Farnborough — the same day that the day a new Prime Minister took the helm, and just before long-reigning Queen Elizabeth II died on Thursday.

Executives spoke about where the nation is with the National Space Strategy (NSS) and whether it has lived up to expectations. Ian Annett, Deputy CEO for program delivery with the UK Space Agency (UKSA), likened the strategy to a catapult, and said the U.K. is at a stage where it is about to release the catapult. “We now have a strategy, not a plan. We are turning this into resources. We have set up a strategy, and have been developing good science. We are there. We are about to live this. The space sector has weathered the storm recently well. We need to be on the front foot now,” he said.

Andrew Stanniland, CEO of Thales Alenia Space UK, hailed the existence of the space strategy, saying it gives the U.K. a much-needed focus in this area with a multi-year budget for the civil and defense side. Stanniland believes a set strategy is important to have one unified message to the sector.

“A year ago, many people criticized there was too much in the strategy. Ironically, the detail there now helps. We need to show how space impacts daily lives. I think the strategy is still relevant. Collaboration over the last 12 months has been a starting point. Our job as industry, is to challenge government. We can be a lot better at being more aligned. If [the U.K. government] come to us with a set of problems, we can help solve them.”

John Hanley, senior vice president of Secure and Assured Space Solutions for U.K. & Australia at CGI believes the space sector in the U.K. has shown a lot of resilience and that over the last 12 months, since the NSS was launched, the industry is starting to see the fruits of those labors as the strategy is implemented.

Like many at Space-Comm, Hanley highlighted the need to for the industry to be better at telling the story about how space impacts society.  “We see a real urgency from the U.K. government. However, the next six months will be critical for the sector. The launch program is critical, as an example. What we need to get the message across on what is on the rockets and how it will benefit society. We need to be very clear why we are investing in launch, and why it impacts other domains. We need to communicate the end goals from launch.”

Rebecca Evernden, director for Space at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) said that over the last 12 months, the U.K. government has tried to move into implementation mode for the NSS. She said the government is pleased about how far it has come in terms of defence.

“What we would need to do is take this intent and move into joint delivery. It remains to be seen what our new ministers will prioritize. Space is essential for delivering many things that U.K. citizens need for their daily lives. I think at this time, we need to communicate how important space can be to solve the challenges we are facing,” she said.

Evernden said the way to develop resilience is by developing a competitive sector, and the U.K. government wants to support the sector.

“If Space Command know they need things, how do we provide that? Having a diverse competitive sector is critical. We are working on a capabilities plan. This is a top priority, we want to make rapid progress over the next 12 months. We need to have an inward investment perspective. The government needs to be clear on what it is going to buy. We have been quite risk averse in terms of how government invests in technology. We need to make some joint clever investments with the private sector in technology going forward,” she said.

A Developing Launch Sector

The U.K. has a number of plans underway to develop a national launch sector across a number of spaceports. Panelists hope that by this time next year, the nation will have seen multiple launches from U.K. soil.

Melissa Thorpe, head at Spaceport Cornwall, said the demand for launch services from Cornwall had been “incredible”, both from the U.K. and international customers. The spaceport in Cornwall will see the launch of some joint U.K./U.S. payloads on the upcoming Virgin Orbit launch and the launch will also showcase more community-based satellites such as payloads that monitor the coast of Cornwall. Thorpe also emphasized that the industry needs to do a better job telling stories about how people can benefit from satellite tech.

In a competitive launch market, she hopes Cornwall can stand out from the crowd. “We are new to this. We will start to see what our global advantages are. We can offer an overall end-to-end solution. I think the regulations [here in the U.K.] are world-class. We will also end up with a more responsible and ethical way to get to space. If you are launching a product into space, you want to launch it from a place to be proud of. We are also developing that launch capability as part of a wider plan for the site. We have this brand new integration facility which is about to open. We have tried to future-proof the infrastructure, both from the airport side and the launch side.”

Josh Western, CEO of startup Space Forge, a said there is a profound opportunity for the U.K. to become a place that hosts launches frequently. He hailed the work of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and believes the U.K. can be one of the world leaders in enabling companies to return assets from space, which Space Forge is working on.

David Oxley, director of strategic projects for Highlands and Islands Enterprise, and chair of the Spaceport Alliance said that while the nation has integrated supply chains, spaceports have been the missing piece of the infrastructure. Launch capability will give Scotland a full integrated system, which is key for the space economy’s future success, he said.