All things being well, Scotland will later this year become home to the first vertical space launch anywhere in Western Europe.
It will be a very big deal indeed, with heated competition for limited media passes to see the engines from Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA) roar into life as they lift off from SaxaVord Spaceport on the Lamba Ness Peninsula of Unst. It will certainly rank among the most momentous events in the history of the Shetland Islands, with widespread ramifications for the space industry throughout this country and further afield.
But for all its brawny bluster and engineering prowess – not to mention the expense – putting a rocket into space is just a means to an end. What they carry into orbit is where the biggest value lies.
The Scottish space industry is one of the fastest-growing in Europe with more than 150 companies employing in excess of 8,000 people in the kinds of high-paying, high-quality jobs that the country desperately needs to boost its economic performance.
In conjunction with declared spaceports in Shetland, Sutherland, North Uist, Argyll and Prestwick, rocket manufacturers Skyrora of Cumbernauld and Orbex in Moray are building the logistical end of the sector in Scotland, but the majority of jobs revolve around other less flamboyant aspects of the value chain.
One of the sector’s newest companies, Edinburgh-based Aurora Avionics, has just secured £320,000 in backing for further development of its “off the shelf” electronic navigation system to help bring down the cost of getting rockets to their intended destination.
Set up last year by two former employees of Orbex, Aurora has secured the money from Gabriel Investment Syndicate and Scottish Enterprise. It follows early funding from the European Space Agency (ESA) which allowed Aurora to move to a research laboratory at Edinburgh’s Royal Observatory.
The company is headed up by 23-year-old chief executive Oren Smith-Carpenter and co-founder Rowland Fraser, the firm’s chief technical officer. They hope to have a full prototype system ready for testing within a year.
“Oren and I have first-hand experience of the technical challenges to building avionics,” Mr Fraser said.
“Our vision of a universal modular system will result in a step-change in development time, cost and reliability. We will give manufacturers access to the best technology to power the next generation of space vehicles.”
READ MORE: Scotland's space sector shoots for the final frontier
The local presence of rocket manufacturers greatly benefits start-ups like Aurora, but if the company succeeds with its software designs this should unlock access to an orbital economy that is already valued at more than £430 billion globally. That figure is expected to almost double within the next six years.
"We are in the midst of the second space race with rocket developers on the cusp of launching from UK soil, with the number of launches across the globe growing exponentially,” says Mr Smith-Carpenter.
“Each and every firm is trying to grapple with complex and costly avionics to allow them to launch and control their vehicles, and to ultimately place satellites into specific orbits. We want to revolutionise this hugely wasteful process - and enable launch vehicle manufacturers to launch rockets promptly and inexpensively using our modular and reliable systems.”
Getting rockets to their correct destination is vital for their primary payload which is the growing number of satellites being deployed for a variety of tasks such as predicting the weather, providing remote mobile connectivity, and driving GPS and SatNav systems. The ability to target specific orbits is essential for various satellite functions.
READ MORE: UK chief hails test-firing of rockets at Scottish spaceport as ‘big moment’
Glasgow produces more small satellites than anywhere else in Europe thanks primarily to the presence of AAC Clyde Space, Spire Global, and Alba Orbital. It is also a hub for data applications that use the information gathered from space for a wide and expanding array of purposes.
This is one of the reasons why organisers have chosen the city to host the inaugural Space-Comm Expo being held September 11 and 12 at the SEC Glasgow. More than 3,000 people are expected to attend, bringing together businesses from the UK, European and international arena.
"Glasgow is a global hub for small satellite manufacturing and data applications, while companies and universities across Scotland are playing major roles in some of the most complex and important space missions, supporting thousands of jobs,” UK Space Agency director Anu Ojha said.
“There are huge opportunities to build on these successes as we count down to the first launches from Scottish spaceports, catalyse investment from all over the world, and deliver new space missions and capabilities that benefit the whole of the UK.”
Having earlier this month completed a successful test-firing of four Helix engines from RFA, SaxaVord is in pole position for the UK’s first vertical rocket launch but it is not the only spaceport getting ready for liftoff.
The new chief executive of Orbex, which is in charge of operational management at Sutherland, has strongly hinted that the company is aiming to achieve its first launch in 2025. Construction of the facility on the A’ Mhoine peninsula is expected to be completed by the end of this year, with the inaugural launch of an Orbex Prime rocket carrying payload on behalf of Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL) due to follow.
In April the company closed a £16.7 million fundraising deal to complete work on its Prime microlaunchers, which are made at its main facility in Forres, along with construction of the spaceport in Sutherland. The goal is to reach 12 launches per year, assuming associated planning and licencing permissions are granted.
For the moment SaxaVord stands alone with permission from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) for vertical rocket launches in the UK, and it is preparing to celebrate tomorrow with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
But there is much more yet to come in the story of Scotland’s space sector, which has rather quietly grown to establish a foothold in a major global industry with enormous growth potential. Prepare for the volume to ratchet up as liftoff approaches.
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