The UK space economy: Government pivot, launch prospects and new alliances

Did you know that the UK space industry is roughly the same size as the UK music and video games industries? And that beyond direct revenue, nearly £1 in every £5 of UK GDP is supported or enabled by satellite services? Or that, because the UK public sector budget is 0.2% of GDP compared with 0.8% for the EU, our market is more commercially driven and innovative? So how to get to the next level? Should the UK Government pivot its role from grant provider to “anchor customer”? Should the UK build more strategic, resilient partnerships, for example with the Nordic and Baltic nations, with Germany, Japan and Southeast Asia? Will the SpaceX IPO crowd new capital into competing launch vehicles that, if regulation can be stripped back, will “grease the wheels” for facilities like SaxaVord to succeed? And why, in five years or less, will regular landings on the moon become normalised and “boring”? Contributors: Alice Bunn, President of UKspace Doug Liddle, Chair of UKSpace Greg Sadlier, Co-founder and director of know.space Key topics covered: SpaceX IPO UK space industry Sovereign characteristics Geopolitical partnerships Five-year outlook Domain awareness Orbital inspections and defence Asteroid mining SaxaVord