Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for UK space sector of the decision of Virgin Orbit to pause all operations and furlough staff.

Virgin Orbit’s decision to pause operations is a commercial matter for the company. As the company has no permanent staff based in the UK, no UK employees will be affected. Spaceport Cornwall have also confirmed that no jobs will be affected by the announcement. The UK Space Agency is working with Virgin Orbit to understand next steps, as well as any potential effects on the UK supply chain.

The outlook for the UK space sector is very positive. There is significant space launch activity underway in Scotland, with two new spaceports (SaxaVord and Sutherland) anticipating launches in due course. There is also a diverse range of activity beyond launch across the UK space sector, for example in satellite manufacturing, telecommunications, and Earth Observation, which continues to grow rapidly.