US Export Plan - Sector Report - Space

Overview

Scotland’s space sector is one of the fastest growing in Europe, generating GVA of £300 million. The number of space businesses has increased by 65% since 2016, supported by five planned spaceports and strong academic-industry collaboration.^[1] This has enabled Scotland to contribute to large-scale space missions led by the likes of NASA and the European Space Agency, embedding itself into these key supply chains.

The space sector in this context covers the entire value chain including both downstream data such as space sourced information, and upstream launch. According to the UK Space Industry report, the sector in Scotland accounts for around 246 companies that generate more than £298 million income and support over 7000 jobs.^[2] Scotland accounts for nearly 20% of UK space sector jobs and is the largest producer of small satellites in Europe.^[3] The upstream launch side of the sector has seen Scotland leveraging its position as Europe’s leading small satellite manufacturing location, complemented by a range of horizontal and vertical orbital launch capabilities, to become a significant launch nation. At the same time, Scotland’s specialisms through its earth observation and geospatial companies are driving the downstream use of space-sourced data, supporting its commercial application across multiple sectors including agritech, transport & logistics, climate and environmental monitoring.

Specific regional strengths include small satellite manufacturing in Glasgow, space data analytics and Earth observation in Edinburgh and launch sites in northern Scotland and Shetland.^[4] These strengths are underpinned by pioneering research and development in the Highlands, as well as notable educational institutions and organisations, like the University of Edinburgh and its Bayes Centre innovation hub for data science and artificial intelligence.

Scotland’s growth in the space sector is aligned with the UK Space Industrial Plan, published in March 2024, which sets out to improve government and industry collaboration to unlock growth and build resilient space capabilities through innovation, independence and a skilled workforce^[5], with Scotland positioned to be able to deliver end-to-end capabilities, from satellite production to launch and data services. By leveraging its wider strengths in robotics, advanced manufacturing, and engineering, Scotland has the potential to become a leading contributor to this new model of sustainable space activity. This not only aligns with mid-term goals of reducing waste and maximising efficiency in orbit but also reinforces Scotland’s broader ambition to carve out a distinctive role in shaping the future of space exploration and industry.^[6]Given the global supply chains involved in the sector, and the inevitable cross border outputs from space focused ventures, work in Scotland in the industry has a range of export applications.