Europe is pouring billions into space. Can Glasgow's satellite industry keep up?
The city's space boom raises questions about the role of the state in backing important industries.
In 2005, a young space engineer named Craig Clark returned to his hometown of Glasgow after graduating from university. He envisioned starting his own company, which he named Clyde Space. Growing up, Clark knew Glasgow's shipbuilding heritage, and he believed that the city's engineering excellence could be applied to space technology.
He soon discovered that Glasgow had indeed become a leader in building small satellites known as CubeSats. These satellites are much smaller, cheaper, and quicker to develop than traditional large satellites, yet they are modular and can be equipped with various technologies depending on their purpose. The data gathered by satellites of all kinds has become increasingly intertwined with everyday life, aiding communication, navigation, transportation tracking, environmental monitoring, and climate understanding for both governments and businesses.
As the significance of satellites grew, so did the importance of the space industry in Europe. Scotland's space industry has grown tremendously, with more small satellites being built in Glasgow than anywhere else in Europe. The wider space industry generated £335 million in income in 2022-23, an increase of 69% in five years, and employed 2,811 people, a 81% rise over the same period.
While other European governments are pouring billions into their own satellite industries, the question remains: can Glasgow's satellite industry keep up?
The success of Glasgow's satellite industry was not planned but rather an organic process. Craig Clark's Clyde Space played a significant role in this transformation, building Scotland's first satellite, the UKube-1, in partnership with the University of Strathclyde. This collaboration provided the necessary skills, research, and a steady supply of engineers.
Other companies followed suit, forming a new space cluster in the city. Today, Glasgow is Europe's largest producer of small satellites, with many companies specializing in various aspects of satellite manufacturing, launch, spaceports, and ground stations. The sector's growth has created over 1,000 jobs in Scotland and generated £202 million for the Scottish economy, with more than 100 individuals working in space-related activities at the University of Strathclyde.
Written by urgent.news from BBC News's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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