Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what funding or resources are being made available through the UK Space Agency to support university-led propulsion testing initiatives and competitions to encourage more STEM graduates into the domestic space sector.

The UK Space Agency provides dedicated support for university-led rocketry and propulsion skills through its £5 million Rocketry Research, Training and Teaching programme. This funds research and doctoral training and student competitions, including Race2Space, where university teams design, build and hot-fire rocket engines at the Westcott Space Cluster, home to the National Space Propulsion Test Facility.

UKSA funds approximately 50 paid internship placements with space-sector employers yearly, providing students which hands-on experience of current space projects, and practical work experience. Internship placements include multiple propulsion projects.