Queens Speech marks the start of the countdown to the UK’s first SPACEPORT

engineering careers  Queens Speech marks the start of the countdown to the UK’s first SPACEPORT

This week’s Queen’s speech introduced new legislation that (regardless of Brexit) could make the UK the go-to commercial spaceport in Europe.

The Government hope to introduce the ‘Space Industry Bill’ in the next two years; it will introduce new powers to license spaceports, vertically launched rockets and space planes.

Currently, the UK has a 6.5% share of the worldwide space economy, but experts hope the this could increase to 10% by 2030 if the bill passes into law.

New space flights could generate a broad range of new business opportunities and reinvigorate the local economies of some of the most remote areas of the UK if they are chosen to host the UK first spaceport.

The UK Space Industry faces an incredibly challenging time as the country navigates its way out of the European Union [..] For the UK industry to thrive in this new environment, it is essential that the whole sector: government, academia and industry, continue to work in partnership with a steady focus on innovation and growth, with government ready to procure and promote British products and services Richard Peckham, the chairman of umbrella group UKSpace

This could mean flights to space taking off as soon as 2020 a spaceport in Campbeltown, Argyll and Bute; Glasgow Prestwick; Stornoway, Isle of Lewis; Newquay, Cornwall and Llanbedr or Gwynedd.

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Artists impression of a UK spaceport

Conversions of existing coastal aerodromes and airports could quickly be converted into spaceports. With space planes used to launch satellites into orbit, or carry space tourists on sub-orbital flights.

This would benefit small satellite companies by providing low-cost and reliable access to space.