UK Gov backs plans for spaceport.

[Dartzap]

BBC

The government has backed plans for a four-fold expansion of the UK space industry to £40bn by 2030.

It is also considering developing the necessary legal framework to permit a spaceport to be set up in the UK.

It is hoped that this might see the growth of new space tourism companies to start operating services in Britain.

There will also be a simplification of regulations and greater coherence to spur the creation of new space firms.

The government made the announcements in response to an industry report published last year called the Space Innovation and Growth Strategy Action Plan.

The industry grew by 7% per annum during the recession. Space technology requires ultra-high precision engineering, which is a UK strength with a background in defence technology companies.

This, coupled with British strength in space science, makes it ideally placed to take advantage of the projected rapid expansion in low-cost satellite launches and space tourism. Space is already a multi-billion-pound industry.

The science minister has been a supporter of the UK space industry and has fostered closer links with the European Space Agency (Esa).

He was closely involved in negotiating the selection of Esa's first "official" UK astronaut, Tim Peake.

Major Peake will be going into space next year to conduct experiments on the International Space Station (ISS).

Mr Willetts said that the space sector could "propel" UK growth.

"Space industries already support 95,000 full-time jobs and generate £9.1bn for the economy each year, and our response to the Growth Action Plan shows our commitment to secure its future growth and realise ambitions to develop a viable UK spaceport for commercial space flight," he explained.

Dr David Parker, chief executive at the UK Space Agency, said that government was working "shoulder-to-shoulder with industry to exploit the full potential of the space sector to grow the economy, deliver more efficient public services and inspire the next generation".

"At the UK Space Agency, we are particularly focusing on helping the rest of government make best use of the huge increase in real-time data from the Galileo and Sentinel satellites, looking at exciting opportunities such as a UK spaceport, and leading an export drive for UK space products and services.

"Our vision is to make the UK the most attractive location for space businesses to set up and prosper - and I'm convinced we are on our way."

The chief executive of Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL), Dr Matt Perkins, told BBC News that "the space sector has huge potential and I believe the strong government endorsement of this strategy provides a pathway to achieving increased economic benefit for the UK and growth for SSTL."

Only about a zillion behind everyone else, but we'll get there eventually!

[Eternal_Freedom]

It's a good sign, regardless of how late it might be.

[Darth Tanner]

Why would you set-up a launch facility in the UK? Not only are our land prices much higher but our location 'up north' would make the launches far more expensive and difficult. Surely the price of shipping stuff/people to the equator launch zones isn't that great.

We have enough trouble building wind turbines without NIMBYs complaining without a rocket blasting off on a regular basis.

Good news that the space industry is flourishing in the UK though.

[Dartzap]

From what I recall earlier in the year, there was an outline for a launch site in the Glasgow area, on former industrial lands, which no one gives a toss about, and was in easy reach of the satellite factories around Glasgow.

[Darth Nostril]

From what I recall earlier in the year, there was an outline for a launch site in Glasgow, which no one gives a toss about.

Fixed that for you.

[Irbis]

From what I recall earlier in the year, there was an outline for a launch site in the Glasgow area, on former industrial lands, which no one gives a toss about, and was in easy reach of the satellite factories around Glasgow.

Cue big surprise possible at the end of this year?

[Broomstick]

Why would you set-up a launch facility in the UK?

Because the US is being retarded and instead of advancing its space program the stupid government there is retreating? Kudos to anyone willing to step into the hole left by that asinine move.

Sure, there are private US companies trying to step into the breach, but one of them has ties to the Virgin empire of companies which has, if I recall correctly, said something along the lines that if the US isn't cooperative with space tourism Branson will take his toys and money elsewhere.

[phongn]

Why would you set-up a launch facility in the UK?

Because the US is being retarded and instead of advancing its space program the stupid government there is retreating? Kudos to anyone willing to step into the hole left by that asinine move.

Why not align with the ESA, which has an excellent launch site in the French Guiana?

[Broomstick]

Bragging rights?

[phongn]

Bragging rights?

What bragging rights? Launch complexes are commonplace, and a high latitude complex is not exactly something to boast about.

I don't really see what the UK's initiative has to do with the USA either; even in reduced form the US public nondefense programs are still huge (and the defense and intelligence programs even larger). A notional UK space program is hardly filling in the gaps.

[Irbis]

Why not align with the ESA, which has an excellent launch site in the French Guiana?

It's excellent also because all trash falls into Atlantic ocean. Russian spaceport at Baikonur generated small industry hunting fallen fuel tanks and spent engines for titanium, nickel, and chromium. What will UK do if something falls in Norway or Germany?

[Zaune]

Why not align with the ESA, which has an excellent launch site in the French Guiana?

Because British politics, especially where Europe is concerned, are horribly dysfunctional.

[Tony Stark]

Britain is a member of the ESA.



Also people would be surprised to find out that Britain has the second or third largest Aerospace Industry in the world. Therefore Britian is an attractive location.

[Irbis]

Also people would be surprised to find out that Britain has the second or third largest Aerospace Industry in the world. Therefore Britian is an attractive location.

Do they? USA and Russia IIRC are both much larger, EADS and various French/German companies should make both larger than the UK too. Then there is Japan/China, which both appear to be much more active in that field, but not sure hor raw numbers compare.

[Sky Captain]

UK launch site would be good only for polar launches. Any eastern launch would overfly densely populated parts of Europe wich is not allowed. Most sattelites are launched into geosync orbit and that require eastern launch trajectory. Launches to ISS also would go to east over Europe. What kind of polar sattelite launch market UK expect if they think a launch site in UK is worthy investment?

[Darth Tanner]

It's likely just for space tourism - so Virgin Galactic. I guess they have run the number that shipping the space plane to S. America every time is more expensive than the increase in fuel cost... or its just government noise trying to make an article about space support service a bit more exciting with a Space port.

[K. A. Pital]

Also people would be surprised to find out that Britain has the second or third largest Aerospace Industry in the world. Therefore Britian is an attractive location.

Do they? USA and Russia IIRC are both much larger, EADS and various French/German companies should make both larger than the UK too. Then there is Japan/China, which both appear to be much more active in that field, but not sure hor raw numbers compare.

Japan and China have their own space agencies, even though the Japanese one doesn't have an own 'full' manned program. They also have better geographic position. Britain has aerospace industry and all, but the location, so as long as rockets and not SSTOs are used, dooms it to irrelevance.

[Tony Stark]

Also people would be surprised to find out that Britain has the second or third largest Aerospace Industry in the world. Therefore Britian is an attractive location.

Do they? USA and Russia IIRC are both much larger, EADS and various French/German companies should make both larger than the UK too. Then there is Japan/China, which both appear to be much more active in that field, but not sure hor raw numbers compare.

Japan and China have their own space agencies, even though the Japanese one doesn't have an own 'full' manned program. They also have better geographic position. Britain has aerospace industry and all, but the location, so as long as rockets and not SSTOs are used, dooms it to irrelevance.

This is why Britain has been investing in the Skylon Space Plane.

[Sky Captain]

This is why Britain has been investing in the Skylon Space Plane.

How that would change range safety issues? I don't think Germany or France for example would be happy to have rocket plane full of explosive hydrogen fly over their cities. Sure, SSTO don't drop empty stages, but if there is a failure the whole thing can come crashing down. As long as it don't have safety record comparable to regular airliners it probably won't be acceptable to fly over densely populated areas.

Besides SSTO have so little margins that you absolutely want to launch from equatorial launch site to squeeze out as much payload as possible.

[K. A. Pital]

Doesn't Britain still have some territories in the Carribean?

[Dass.Kapital]

Doesn't Britain still have some territories in the Carribean?

Plus, they could always pick up where they left off in the 1950's with building their rocket bases in Australia.

[LaCroix]

But that would not help the local space industry...

[Zaune]

Doesn't Britain still have some territories in the Caribbean?

Yes, but none that are really suitable for building a launch facility without buying up and levelling just about every other structure on the island to make room. Ascension Island and/or the Falklands probably have the space but they're no closer to the equator and would create a bunch of logistical issues on top.

Besides, we already have a perfectly good launch site for equatorial orbits in French Guiana.

[Eternal_Freedom]

And I can't imagine shipping stuff from Britain to the Carribean is goign to be much cheaper than shipping it to Guiana, so it wouldn't save you much money (unless they were doing stupidly high numbers of launches).

[Dass.Kapital]

But that would not help the local space industry...

It would give them something to shoot at?

Heh...now that comes across completely the wrong way...Doesn't it?

It would give them a 'Point B' as a goal to reach. Heck, eventually having really short flights between the two would be a bonus.