A UK Space Innovation and Growth Strategy 2010 to 2030

The Space Innovation and Growth Strategy Report States:

The global space market is forecast to be worth at least £400 billion by 2030. In order to capitalise on this extraordinary expansion, the UK Space Industry has come together to propose an ambitious 20 year strategy to capture 10% of that £40 billion by 2030 and in doing so create 100, 000 UK jobs. The report highlights that this six-fold increase in the UK’s Space sector is primarily driven by Industry investment but will also need Government to double its spend on Space by 2020.

Key Facts

The UK Space Industry is a hidden success story and a key engine of growth in the UK economy. Together the UK’s Space manufacturing, service and support companies have been able to:

  • Achieve revenues of £5.9 billion in 2007
  • Contribute £5.6 billion to UK GDP in 2007
  • Provide over 19,100 direct jobs
  • Support over 68,000 UK jobs directly through wider spending.

Recommendations

To successfully implement this strategy, industry and Government must work together. The Space Innovation and Growth Strategy Report illustrates a series of steps that need to be taken by all stakeholders to ensure the necessary structural, regulatory, investment and commercial decisions are made at the right time and for the right reasons. Recommendations to achieve this 20-year vision, involves Government and industry working together to:

  1. Develop a National Space Policy
  2. Ensure the UK Executive Space Agency is sufficiently resourced and empowered to drive economic and social benefits from Space
  3. Develop a National Space Technology Strategy
  4. Ensure credit is available for satellite procurement and launch
  5. Procure a sovereign Earth Observation (EO) capability
  6. Take a leadership role in climate-change monitoring, mitigation and agreement verification
  7. Develop Space as a complementary ICT infrastructure to fibre-optic and wireless
  8. Superfast broadband
  9. Use Space capabilities to help achieve UK CO2 emissions reductions from ICT systems
  10. Reflect Space capabilities in future defence/security planning
  11. Promote Space in future UK/EU emergency mobile networks
  12. Secure sufficient future satellite radio frequency spectrum and orbital slots
  13. Train the next generation of Space engineers and scientists and promote STEM subjects in schools, colleges and businesses
  14. Initiate and lead three Space exploration or science missions by 2030
  15. Establish a hub and spoke model for Space in the UK, and an International Space Innovation Centre at Harwell
  16. Invest earlier, and more consistently, in ESA programmes
  17. Establish a Space Leadership Council to implement this strategy

For a comprehensive copy of the Space IGS report and / or recommendations visit www.SpaceIGS.co.uk

Source: Space Innovation and Growth Strategy Executive Summary, 2010