Industry experts have come out in support of the government’s ambitions to make the UK a global space superpower.

But there are also calls for clearer communication of its real-world implications, especially spacetech’s role in addressing sustainability issues and the climate crisis, to tap into latent public support for space sector investment.

The intervention comes as new data reveals more than half the population supports investment in UK spaceports and rocket launch infrastructure, despite only a quarter being aware of the government’s aims and more than half knowing nothing about the UK’s current activity and achievements.

The government has repeatedly reiterated its desire to establish the UK as a global leader of the “New Space” age, with investment in technology and infrastructure constituting a key pillar of its post-Brexit industrial strategy. In November 2020, the government invested £500 million to rescue OneWeb, a communications company building a constellation of satellites designed to deliver next-generation internet services, from bankruptcy as part of this plan.

The new research found, however, that 75% of Britons are unaware of the government’s ambitions for the UK space sector. The significance of the OneWeb deal also failed to make an impression, with none of the respondents to the survey able to name the company as a current UK space project. More broadly, 57% said they knew nothing at all about the UK’s current activity and achievements in the space sector.

Despite this lack of awareness, there is latent support for the Government’s ambitions. When informed of the government’s aims, 53% of respondents said that investing in spaceports and rocket launch infrastructure on UK soil would be an important factor in achieving them. Asked what they would like to see the government’s investment deliver, respondents’ top priorities were next-generation internet and navigation services (58%), solutions for healthcare (56%), and military defence needs (51%) – far ahead of exploration of deep space (37%) or the Moon and Mars (31%), and colonisation of other planets (18%).

Responding to the findings, Rob Desborough, partner at Seraphim Space Fund and CEO of Space Camp commented: “Amid uncertainty as to the future direction and ongoing health of the UK economy post-Brexit and in recovery from COVID, space undoubtedly presents significant long-term opportunities. From the obvious, such as new internet services to enable next-generation communication and entertainment, to those of ‘bigger picture’ significance, such as tools to help us better understand our planet and tackle the climate crisis.”

While much of the UK’s space sector heritage is in satellite technology, launch capability will be critical for establishing a leading position in the sector for the future as more and more satellites will be sent into orbit to deliver increasingly sophisticated services for a wide range of sectors.

The UK was once a world leader in launch, developing the Black Arrow rocket in the 1960s before abandoning it in 1971 in favour of US-built rockets, and is becoming so again with a small number of startups working on low-cost, reusable rockets to meet future demand.

Skyrora, which commissioned the research, is one such company. It brought the Black Arrow rocket back to the UK from its resting place in the Australian outback in 2019. Confronted with the finding that only 30 per cent of Brits had heard of Black Arrow, and 77% didn’t know the UK had any companies developing launch capabilities, CEO Volodymyr Levykin, said: “Black Arrow was a milestone moment for the UK space sector, so it’s sad that it’s now a largely forgotten episode in British history. We did our bit to revive the memory, but we’re just one company. A new generation of innovators is laying the foundations for a future in which the UK is a leading force in sending satellites and more into space. What we need now is an acceleration of plans for investment in launch infrastructure – capitalising on the public’s interest, shown in this research, will help them earn the licence to do that.”

www.skyrora.com

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