Initiative aims to drive foreign direct investment for UK space sector

Basically, it is to encourage startups and established companies from around the world to set up, or expand, their space operations within the UK.

A key component of the initiative, says Space Enterprise, involves the launch of an online portal, which can be found here.

The portal outlines, for example, the capabilities, industrial activity, academic prowess, and such like, within the space ecosystem across different regions of the UK.

The sub-sectors covered include space manufacturing, spaceflight and habitation, climate intelligence, connectivity and PNT, sustainability and space science.

It aims to “encourage enquiries and overseas involvement in the evolution and development of productive local and regional space clusters and an increasingly vibrant, interactive space community across the UK”.

Space Enterprise explains:

“It sets out expertise profiles to assist potential investors and entrepreneurs in accessing the space industry’s ongoing innovation and infrastructure developments, including complementary adjacent sectors that underpin academic and research assets to help make space clusters a cornerstone of the UK’s global market offering.”

The UK space cluster directory can be found here.

The UK Space Enterprise Community is described as “a programme of work funded by the UK Space Agency and the Satellite Applications Catapult that is designed to facilitate collaboration and growth within the UK space sector”.

The UK space industry currently employs close to 49,000 people, generating an estimated £17.5 billion a year and boasting a £5 billion annual export market, according to the recently refreshed Size and Health of the UK Space Industry report.

See also: UK Space Agency provides £2.1m funding for UK spaceflight capabilities