Shetland Space Centre ‘delighted’ to join with sector representatives seeking greater collaboration

Shetland Space Centre wants to create a launch site in Unst.

The team at the forefront of Shetland’s emerging space sector has joined with other representatives seeking collaboration to strengthen their industry.

Shetland Space Centre was one of more than 60 participants in the recent workshops held to foster a common UK space sector voice to speak up for their interests.

Delivered by the Scottish Space Leadership Council (SSLC), the series of virtual events aimed to raise collective concerns to feedback during the UK government’s consultation on its space industry regulations, which runs until 21st October. 

SSLC said the industry wants government to establish world-class rules to enable safe, environmentally conscious and commercially viable space launches from Britain. 

Scott Hammond from the Shetland Space Centre said he was delighted to play a part in the workshop.

“It was important to bring all parts of the UK space industry together to start to craft a range solution that will suit all,” he added. 

SSLC chairman John Innes said the events demonstrated a “strong desire” to work collaboratively across the  space sector and with regulators.

More than 60 representatives from  the sector, including industry and academia, attended the sessions, as well as government agencies,  including the UK Space Agency, Civil Aviation Authority, as observers. 

SSLC was set up in 2017 to promote the sector and take a united approach to shared challenges including the development of practical launch legislation to govern safe UK spaceflight.

This area is felt to require immediate attention given global competition.

The UK Space Agency’s target to capture 10 per cent of the global space market by 2030.

IT  has already led to significant investment in a number of developing spaceports, most of which are located in Scotland due to geographical benefits related to flight trajectories, particularly for vertical rocket launches.

Shetland Space Centre aims to  create a satellite launch site and a ground station in Unst – making use of the UK’s most northerly island.

It held virtual consultations in May and is expected to submit an application in September.