Universities and Science Minister and Minister for
Aviation Lord Ahmad spoke alongside the UK Space Agency
CEO Katherine Courtney at the Launch UK conference at the
Royal Aeronautical Society on 21 February.
A key strand of the government’s Industrial Strategy is
for the UK to hold a greater share of the commercial
spaceflight market, worth an estimated £25 billion over
the next 20 years, by developing competitive, commercial
and safe spaceflight proposals for UK-based satellite
launch services and sub-orbital flights.
The conference brought together potential UK spaceports
and spaceflight vehicle operators – the component parts
of the consortia that are working to provide commercial
launch services from the UK.
The UK Space Agency has made grants worth £10 million
available to help develop the capability for spaceflight.
The consortia are being invited to provide their business
cases for funding to develop key technologies or
infrastructure in the UK.
The conference took place as new legislation – the
Spaceflight Bill – was delivered to the House of Commons
and the House of Lords today to facilitate and regulate
commercial spaceflight.
Universities and Science Minister said:
We really do stand at the dawn of a very exciting era.
This is a big and incredibly exhilarating moment for
this country.
The traditional space sector is changing and the way we
access space is changing too, which is why this is a
truly important moment for us. It’s vital that we don’t
miss the exciting opportunities that are now ahead of
us.
Minister for Aviation Lord Ahmad said:
We are boldly legislating where no British government
has legislated before.
It’s clear we are galvanised and ready to grasp this
huge opportunity for our country. We want to move
quickly but we also want to get it right too.
It’s our ambition as a government, as a collective
industry, as a country that the UK is the best place in
Europe for space flight operations.
Seven potential regional spaceports gave presentations
and a panel of industry experts discussed innovations in
commercial spaceflight, looking ahead to 2025, while
there was also an opportunity for networking.
Katherine Courtney, CEO UK Space Agency, said:
With our partners across government we continue to
create a supportive environment for commercial
innovation and cutting edge science.
Together, we are working to embrace the emerging small
satellite launch market to capture a share of the £25bn
global opportunity. I’m confident that 2020 will see
the first launches from British soil, and we’re working
hard to make that a reality.
