Space Industry

Debate between Christine Jardine and Mark Garnier

Wednesday 24th April 2024 Westminster Hall

[Mark Garnier]

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right and I will mention Belfast later. Queen’s University Belfast has recently hosted some incredibly important energy-beaming experiments, which will completely open up the possibility for the UK to be world leaders in space-based solar power. I will talk a little more about that later.

My interest in space also derives from my unachieved desire to be an aeronautical engineer. My career in the City of London and an interest in economics have given me the insight to recognise that the space industry is the epitome of what Adam Smith talked about in his 1776 book “The Wealth of Nations”. The space industry epitomises a mature economy’s desire to seek ever more productive activities and the UK is doing particularly well in that area.

The UK space sector as a whole has a turnover of some £17.5 billion per annum, employing nearly 50,000 people, 2,300 of whom are apprentices.

[Christine Jardine (Edinburgh West) (LD)]

I thank the hon. Member for giving way and for obtaining this debate, which is of particular significance in Scotland and in my constituency. I recently visited San Francisco and its space industry, where Edinburgh University is highly regarded. An ecosystem and an environment have been created there that engender growth and co-operation between the university and the private sector specifically on space. Does the hon. Member feel we are doing enough in this country to engender the same sort of ecosystem in places such as Edinburgh, where there is that potential?

[Mark Garnier]

We are, but we could always do more. It is interesting that the hon. Lady chose that moment to intervene because I was just about to mention the amazing things going on in Scotland. Scotland is fascinating for a whole load of different reasons, but she is absolutely right to raise those important points. How we take forward our space industry now through the relationship with the Government is incredibly important to its success. I will talk more about that later, but she should be proud that Scotland is doing so well. I am pleased to see several Members from Scotland who are here to rightly represent the interests of their constituencies, and I look forward to hearing from them all.

In fact, my next line was that more CubeSats are built in Glasgow than anywhere else in the world. Indeed, the space industry in the UK has led to a number of key hubs for space across the country, in addition to Glasgow and Scotland more widely. While it is sometimes easy to overdo the definition of a hub, we have a handful of significant centres leading the way. Harwell Science and Innovation Campus near Oxford hosts a large campus of space companies, from start-ups supported by the Satellite Applications Catapult to offices for big primes and the European Space Agency. Surrey has its research park at Guildford centred around the leading UK satellite company, Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. Cornwall has a hub developed around the Newquay spaceport and Goonhilly earth station. Leicester has its own science and space park with a fabulous museum and, of course, a space-dedicated university. Scotland has not just its hub around Glasgow, but potentially three vertical and two horizontal launch centres.

The global opportunity is immense. Across the world, turnover is expected to grow from £270 billion in 2019 to £490 billion by 2030. It is vital that the UK not only participates in that growth with our own domestic ambitions, but accelerates its opportunity by seeking wider export markets.