A new West of Scotland Space Cluster has been launched ahead of this week’s Space-Comm Expo in Glasgow that experts say will be critical in helping the country achieve its ambition of securing £4 billion of the global market by 2030.
It’s the newest addition to the UK’s thriving ecosystem of regional space clusters with the West of Scotland being a key hub in the Scottish space sector. The Space-Comm Expo Scotland on Sepemtber 11 and 12 is one of the biggest UK space industry events and takes place at the SEC in Glasgow.
The region is a key hub in the Scottish space sector and operates at the forefront of a European revolution in spacecraft systems, payload manufacture, launch and data analysis activity.
The cluster incorporates industry, universities and colleges as well as economic development and support organisations, aiming to capitalise and expand on existing regional strengths in space technologies. It includes space companies such as AAC Clyde Space and Spire Global, who have led the way by building more satellites in Glasgow than any other city in Europe.
Craig Clark MBE is the founder of AAC Clyde Space and a Professor of Practice in the University of Strathclyde’s space cluster said it will help drive regional growth by combining pioneering research, industry innovation and manufacturing facilities to provide the foundation for Scotland’s emerging end-to-end capability in the European small satellite value chain.
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Andrew Strain, Chief Technology Officer at AAC Clyde Space, added: “The West of Scotland has amassed an incredible amount of capability in the space industry over the past two decades, particularly in small satellite design and manufacturing. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the launch of Scotland’s first satellite UKube-1, built by Clyde Space Ltd, now part of AAC Clyde Space.
“In the following decade, Scotland has gone from never having launched a satellite to building more than anywhere else in Europe. Satellites and systems designed and built here account for hundreds of years of accumulated on-orbit heritage – very few places in the world can claim that. Through the West of Scotland Space Cluster, we have to opportunity to maintain and grow our admirable position in this innovative section of the space industry.”
Antonia Yendell, Head of the Space Ecosystem team at the UK Space Agency continued: “The UK Space Agency strongly supports and is investing in the growth of the Scottish Space Economy. The UK Space Ecosystem is a competitive advantage for the UK Space Sector and Scotland plays a critical role in our thriving and interconnected cluster network, developing our national capabilities and driving economic growth.”
The original article was written by Mark McDougall for Herald Scotland.
