Licence to Launch
Margaret Ryan
The UK is a leader in satellite manufacturing, contributing nearly £19bn to our economy and supporting around 126,000 jobs. Yet, we've never launched a single satellite from British soil. What's stopping us?
The current launch licensing process makes it difficult for both UK and international companies to launch here, preventing us from fully tapping into our potential to be a leading space nation. Our research shows this is largely down to complicated and slow-moving regulations, and despite previous calls and recommendations for improvement from multiple sources including the House of Commons Science, Innovation and Technology Committee, no real progress has been made.
In our new paper, ‘Licence to launch’, we lay out actionable solutions to streamline the UK's launch licensing process and reduce delays. Through regulatory simplification and international documentation standards, there is a clear pathway to the domestic launch capability that will further solidify Britain’s position as a leader in the growing global space industry.
Read our full paper below.
