“The UK Space sector is worth more than £9 billion each year to the national economy, with more than 75,000 people employed in space technology jobs.”
The UK Space Sector is Growing Fast
The space technology sector in the UK incorporates scientific exploration, advanced scientific instruments and commercial satellite production and maintenance. The sector is worth more than £9 billion each year to the national economy, with more than 75,000 people employed in space technology jobs.
In 2013 the UK government established the UK Space Agency, a collaborative body that brings together government, industry and academic research centres. The aim of the Agency is to increase the size of the sector to 100,000 jobs and a turnover of £40 billion, with a 10% share of the worldwide space sector.
A New International Space Innovation Centre
In addition to the creation of the UK Space Agency, the British government has invested £24 million in a new £40 million International Space Innovation Centre (ISIC) in Harwell, Oxfordshire. ISIC will investigate climate change and space security systems and will create 700 new jobs.
In 2013, ISIC was merged to form part of a new Satellite Applications Catapult. Harwell is also the location of research centre for the European Space Agency as well as the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, which is an important centre for the production of scientific instruments, satellite testing and the analysis of satellite data.
More Than 260 Space Technology Companies are Based in the UK
There are more than 260 space technology companies based in the UK, with companies growing at an average of 10% according to UK Trade and Investment (April 2014). Britain has particular sector strengths in satellite communications, earth observation technology and space security systems and many companies are involved in computer software design and systems integration for these technologies.
While there are several major companies based in the UK, such as Airbus Defence and Space, Qinetiq, SEA and STFC RAL, the majority of sector companies are innovative SMEs, which frequently work together to develop the latest space technology.
A Major Player in Satellite Communications
The largest area of the UK space sector is satellite communications, with 20% of the global satellite market. Several UK companies design and manufacture communication satellites, building applications for broadband, broadcast and fixed satellites, as well as mobile satellites for commercial applications unrelated to space, such a marine navigation systems for North Sea fisheries.
Several UK observation satellites, such as Sentinel-1A, have been launched in conjunction with the European Space Agency. With technology that can see through cloud cover, rain and darkness, it is used to monitor the impact of natural disasters, aid emergency relief and to monitor the effects of environmental damage across the globe. The data from this satellite has numerous applications across different research areas, including urban planning and maritime security.
One of the major satellite projects of recent years is the Galileo satellite navigation system which is intended the rival US-backed GPS technology. Britain is also a partner in all the major European earth observation projects, with 40 years ’ experience building radar remote sensing satellites for defence and civil purposes.
One of these projects is Nova SAR, an earth observation satellite that was launched to monitor the earth ’s carbon footprint. In addition, Airbus Space and Defence has been awarded a £134 million contract by the UK government, to enable them to develop instruments for the next generation of weather satellites.
Surrey Satellite Technologies
Surrey Satellite Technologies Ltd, once a spin-out company of the University of Surrey, is now a subsidiary of Airbus Space and Defence. The company is a world leader in satellite design and manufacture, employing more than 230 people.
They have successfully developed satellites for 27 space missions, including GIOVE-A and GIOVE-A2, which were launched as part of the Galileo satellite navigation system in conjunction with the European Space Agency.
The Solar Orbiter
In 2012 the European Space Agency awarded Astrium UK (now Airbus Space and Defence) the contract to build the Solar Orbiter satellite, which will observe closely the Sun ’s heliosphere, polar regions and solar winds in a way that is not possible from the Earth. The project is a joint collaboration with NASA and is scheduled to be launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida in 2017.
“The Skylon spaceplane has the capacity to carry 15 tonnes of cargo to a limit of 300km equatorial orbit and up to 11 tonnes of cargo to the ISS.”
The Satellite Applications Catapult
Up to £10 million of funding has been made available to industry following the creation of the Satellite Applications Catapult, a new world-class centre of satellite applications.
The Catapult is part of a network of advanced manufacturing and engineering research centres across the UK and was established to support the rapid commercialisation of cutting-edge space technologies. It is hoped the Catapult will help UK-based companies to develop new satellites and scientific instruments as well as boosting the British economy.
Skylon: An Innovative Spaceplanes in Development
The UK space company Reaction Engines Ltd is working on the design of a spaceplane called Skylon. The spaceplane is an unpiloted craft intended to transport payloads or passengers to space destinations such as the International Space Station (ISS).
Skylon will use the UK ’s innovative SABRE hydrogen propulsion system: a combined-cycle, air-breathing rocket that is potentially reusable for 200 flights. The plane has the capacity to carry 15 tonnes of cargo to a limit of 300km equatorial orbit and up to 11 tonnes of cargo to the ISS. This would equal a capacity of up to 45% more than current spacecraft. If all continues to go well, Skylon ’s first test flights could begin in 2019, with initial flights to the International Space Station beginning in 2022.
UK Research Facilities
There are numerous space research facilities across the UK, including the International Space Innovation Centre in Harwell, the Jodrell Bank Observatory in Cheshire and the Mullard Space Science Laboratory (MSSL) in Dorking.
The MSSL is the largest university space research group in the UK and is the research facilities for University College London ’s Department of Space and Climate Physics.
The laboratory has participated in 35 satellite missions, with 10 currently underway. In particular the laboratory has participated in a number of solar physics experiments, producing scientific instruments (spectroscopic x-ray technology) to observe solar flares in the Ariel-1, OSO-4, ESRO-II, OSO-5 and OSO-6 missions.
The MSSL has also been an important partner in the ESA and NASA ’s Solar Maximum Mission and MSSL engineers have participated in the building and testing of an Ultraviolet Optical Telescope for the Swift Mission. In the future, the lab will develop a new EUV Imaging Spectrometer for the Solar-B and STEREO missions.
Support for the UK Space Sector
There are a number of agencies in the Uk that support the Space Technology sector. The UK Space Agency works under the UK government ’s Department for Business Innovation and Skills.
It aims to further the growth of the space sector and works to raise the profile of UK space activities at home and abroad. UK Space is the sector ’s main trade association and represents about 75% of companies working in the UK industry.
The Association of Specialist Technical Organisations for Space (ASTOS) is the trade association focussed on SMEs in the thriving space technology sector, while the UK Space Directory provides a comprehensive list of all UK-based space companies, including their sector specialisms.
In addition, the Space Knowledge Transfer Network (SKTN) helps to build knowledge networks of those working in the space sector, including industry, finance, academics and research and technology organisations.
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