Space South Central region perfectly placed to capitalise on government’s new space plan
Hampshire, Surrey and the Isle of Wight’s thriving space sector is perfectly placed to capitalise on the government’s new Space Industrial Plan, released last week.
The Space Industrial Plan: From ambition to action – advancing UK Space Industry, is a joint civil-defence plan that sets out to ‘modernise the relationship between government and the commercial space sector, establishing clear visions, missions, and actions to unlock growth and develop resilient space capabilities’.
The Space South Central region already has well-established strengths in the five priority space capabilities highlighted in the plan, in which the government pledges to boost growth in:
In-orbit servicing
Assembly and manufacturing
Space data for Earth applications
Position, Navigation and Timing (PNT)
Satellite communication technology
Figures from 2022 showed that Surrey and Hampshire alone account for around £3 billion of national space industry turnover, with 5,600 people working in the space sector across the two counties. The Space South Central region boasts significant capabilities in satellite manufacturing, launch technologies, next-generation communications, robotics, autonomous systems, and a full range of satellite data-enabled service capabilities.
The Space Industrial Plan puts regional space clusters at the heart of ‘Developing the UK’s Space Ecosystem’, bringing together academia, local businesses and government to drive new local expertise and increased domestic and international investment. It also commits to wider themes where Space South Central initiatives are already having an impact, including:
Stimulating international trade
University/industry collaborations and partnerships
Promoting the value of space data and technology for businesses in other sectors
Developing the relationship between the government and the UK space industry
Boosting investment and access to finance
Supporting innovation and growth among start-ups and SMEs
Developing future space capabilities eg propulsion systems, new fuels and discovery science missions
Building a Skilled Space Workforce
Evolving the relationship between space and the defence sector
Author of the foreward to the Space Industrial Plan, Andrew Griffith, Minister for Science, Research and Innovation, delivering his keynote at Space Comm, Farnborough, on Thursday 7 March 2024.
Space South Central is one of the most established UK regional space clusters. Its six-strong team and academic partners – the universities of Portsmouth, Southampton and Surrey – work with companies of all sizes to promote the region’s space sector at home and abroad, and boost innovation and growth.
Dr Louise Butt, Director of the Space South Central Enterprise Network, said: “While we await further details of how the Space Industrial Plan will be implemented, its areas of focus play to the strengths of our region and align with Space South Central’s existing priorities.
“As one of the most established regional space clusters, we have a dedicated team already working on the priorities outlined in the plan, bolstered by three world-class university partners
and a wealth of space capabilities unrivalled anywhere in the UK.
“This gives our region a head start in capitalising on any funding and initiatives that arise from the Space Industrial Plan – and the Space South Central team is poised to ensure that our region can maximise these opportunities.”
In his foreward to the Space Industrial Plan, Minister for Science, Research and Innovation, Andrew Griffith, said:
“This plan builds on our commitments from our National Space Strategy, which laid robust foundations for the ambitious journey ahead to embed space as a fundamental driver of industrial growth and national resilience.
“We are prioritising activity out to 2030 with clear, timed missions and actions that we want to see backed and run by UK industry. This will only be deliverable through a shared endeavour, and we are offering our hand in that partnership.
“I am confident that the UK will continue to be a beacon of innovation, exploration, discovery, and growth in the boundless potential that space offers.”
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