Scotland’s Space Future!
An exclusive Interview with Scotland's first International Trade Envoy for Space
Introduction
Scotland’s newly appointed International Trade Envoy for Space, Daniel Smith shares his insights on the potential of the Scottish space sector. Space Network caught up with him on his return from four weeks of space events in Europe, Australia, and the Gulf, as part of his space business interests. During this time, Daniel had ample opportunities to promote Scotland's space sector to new audiences.
As the founding Director of non-profit Space Scotland and four commercial space firms, including AstroAgency, Fire Arrow, and Skyrora, Smith discusses how space commercialisation is creating high-value jobs, addressing environmental challenges, and positioning Scotland as a leader in the global space economy.
Here’s the full interview.
Economic growth and regional revitalisation
Question: What role do you see space commercialisation playing in Scotland’s economic growth and regional revitalisation?
Daniel Smith:
The longer I work in the commercial space sector, the less I see it as one of many stand alone industries, but rather as the near-Earth infrastructure that underpins almost every sector imaginable. The commercial space movement has developed to the point where space technology and services are powering some of the things we all take for granted, and would never consider being supported from space. Because of this critical role, many global governments and businesses are writing space strategies and working out how they can do more to leverage the breadth of Earth intelligence that is provided by space.
Scotland, as I'm sure we will cover today, has quietly positioned itself as a bigger player in this market than many are aware. And why not - it certainly wouldn't make sense for us to miss out on something that can do so much to boost our well-being, particularly when we have all the ingredients in place to leverage such a fast-emerging economy projected to be worth not just millions globally, but trillions, in the next decade.
A brief snapshot of how space commercialisation supports economic growth in Scotland include communications constellations providing broadband provision to remote areas where it is hard for phone signals to reach, thus enabling remote learning and remote healthcare services, as well as supporting agriculture, remote sensor systems (satellite Internet of Things) and tourism. Whereas Earth observation satellites monitor roads and railways to keep us moving, monitor wind turbines that supply our energy and track flood hazards and water build up to warn us of threats to commercial and domestic property, with a great example of the latter being the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency's Satellite Emergency Mapping System, unveiled at Space-Comm Expo in Glasgow this year. Earth observation is increasingly being used for environmental sustainability, validating the efficiency of carbon storage in tree-plantations and ensuring that Environmental Social Governance (ESG) commitments are being met by exposing 'greenwashing' from corporations. When EO data is combined with other data sets, we've seen companies like Krucial support efficient fish farming by pairing satellites with Internet of Things, and Trade in Space pairing blockchain with space to monitor the sustainability of supply chains for coffee and other commodities.
Physical infrastructure developments such as groundstations, spaceports, environmental testing facilities and factories manufacturing space hardware using advanced techniques create huge employment opportunities, often in remote regions that can help support community revitalisation.
And none of that even touches upon the education and research benefits of being at the forefront of the commercial space revolution!
Addressing criticism of public investment
Question: Some recent criticism has focused on public investment in spaceports, suggesting the funds could be better spent elsewhere. How would you respond to that?
Daniel Smith:
Public space investment has been found to deliver widespread benefits alongside strong rates of return on investment. According to a report last year entitled 'The Case for Space', for every pound invested in space, anywhere between £3 and £10 is returned. But public investment is always a topic that will bring different opinions and understandably so, due to the subjective nature of how we analyse such commitments. I feel that the challenge around demonstrating the value of space sector investment is mainly to do with awareness in the widespread benefits, together with the fact that the commercial space sector remains relatively young and therefore, the 150+ Scottish space companies (including many that have chosen to move to Scotland) and thousands employed are not as visible as more established industries. Generally, there is a lack of awareness in Scotland’s space heritage and the industry’s ability not just to sustain itself, but to underpin almost every sector imaginable far into the future, not to mention our environment and national security for the long-term.
However, when it comes to the size of the sector, the potential for growth and leadership from within Scotland more than makes up for its burgeoning nature. And when it comes to awareness, this is a temporary issue and part of it comes from our nature - the inability of Scots to see themselves as trail blazers in an area as alien to the wider public as space, despite our history of innovation and invention.
Satellites play a growing part in our everyday lives, with reports that the average person uses space data forty times per day; weather forecasts, financial transactions, internet, broadcasting and of course the GPS maps on our phones, cars, lorries, trains, ships, aircraft and tractors that not only help us get around, but ensures that the food we eat is cultivated efficiently and the things we order as individuals or businesses, from anywhere in the world, reach us on time - and not just at Christmas!
Generally, I haven't been aware of much criticism over the years when it comes to public funding of space activity. The most recent investment announcement I can think of was the £3.5 million funding call by the UK Space Agency to help provide satellite services to remote communities in Scotland and Northern Ireland, which was met really positively.
However, there have been media questions following developments at Sutherland's spaceport being paused. Much of that is posed simply as - “investment in a spaceport”, without doesn't really explain the full story of the potential wins from investing in infrastructure of this nature that aren't limited to direct employment in areas such as engineering, law, construction, hospitality, transport and logistics, but further enable so many indirect benefits that global society relies on. A quick online search will source multiple reports confirming that there are 10s of thousands of satellites to be launched by all kinds of businesses, universities and governments, into orbits that need launch sites from geographically favourable locations. Saxa Vord and Sutherland have made huge strides to ensure Scotland’s unique geography can position our nation as the home of European spaceflight, with the aim of delivering prosperity through being the gateway for launch, the key enabler for accessing valuable space data.
Scotland’s strategic position
Question: Scotland’s geographic position has been highlighted as a key advantage. Can you expand on how this benefits the space sector?
Daniel Smith:
There's no doubt that geography has been kind to us when it comes to launching satellites into orbit, for the many satellites that require launching into what is called high inclination orbits that travel over the poles, Scotland is a near perfect launch location. But even before running through the benefits of sparsely populated areas and clear trajectories for spaceflight, it's worth also highlighting that Glasgow - Satellite City - designs and builds more small satellites than anywhere in the world outside the USA thanks to companies like Spire, AAC Clyde Space, Alba Orbital and Craft Prospect. This is immediately relevant because it cuts down logistical headaches around transporting spacecraft, not to mention export licencing and insurance, by having the launch site so nearby.
Next year, Scotland expects to be the first country in Europe to launch satellites into orbit and much of that is certainly due to the attractiveness of remote launch sites surrounded by sea, not something that many countries can offer. Our location so far north makes us ideal for efficiently reaching polar and sun-synchronous orbits, the ideal places in space (around 500km up) to position Earth observation satellites equipped with sensors that look back on our planet, sharing the information they collect through radar, infrared, radio frequency and state-of-the-art imagers, providing actionable insights that can track illegal fishing and mining, identify disease within food crops, warn us of landslides or send back information to quickly respond to flooding, infrastructure deterioration (think railway tracks, dams and bridges) and global wildfires or hurricanes. Earth observation and the different ways you can use satellite data is only going to increase, due to its effectiveness and surprising cost-efficiency, and high inclination orbits that can be more easily reached from Scotland make it a good launch location. Scotland is already an enabler for that growth through the satellites we build and the data we analyse, but now it can also be the place where the huge back-log of satellites start their journey into space.
Environmental and scientific innovation
Question: The environmental impact of space activities is a concern for many. How is Scotland addressing this issue?
Daniel Smith:
In 2021, Scotland's sector worked together voluntarily to create a national space strategy to
support wider UK ambitions. As part of that, we included a pillar around sustainability. The following year, Space Scotland received support from Scottish Enterprise to develop and deliver the world's first Space Sustainability Roadmap (created by local companies AstroAgency and Optimat), which clearly sets out how Scotland's space companies are leading by example on reducing emissions and acting responsibly, as well as delivering a series of work packages for Space Scotland's Environmental task Force to take forward, to turn our foundation into a major differentiating factor for our industry.
Whilst being at the early stages of a new sector like commercial space comes with challenges around investment, skills and awareness, it also brings opportunities. With launch in particular, we're in a position where we can build in a sustainable approach from the very beginning, unlike other established space nations that are looking at how they can bolt-on environmental considerations to decades old launch practices. This is a huge advantage for the long-term, with net zero and environmental social governance (ESG) considerations and increasing investment around finding the more environmentally conscious ways to do things that, in the past, were considered harmful to the environment.
The Roadmap explains the substance behind the ambition - the Scottish-based launch companies like Skyrora, HyImpulse and Orbex developing green rocket fuels, the spaceports that are going further than passing their environmental impact assessments by coming up with ways to offer less environmentally impactful launch site operations through minimal infrastructure and roads that float to avoid damaging peatlands, and so much more. Scotland's satellite companies are doing a lot to reduce orbital pollution, with AAC Clyde Space considering the impact of the materials they use to build their satellites and Spire developing satellites that can track debris in orbit to prevent collisions in space that could risk significant loss of services here on Earth.
When you couple the strategic prioritisation of sustainability together with the efforts being made to act sustainably, it's a huge selling point for Scotland. And that's not even mentioning the 30+ data analysis firms using space data to support environmental protection, measure natural capital and underpin conservation efforts, or the UK Space Agency's leadership on space sustainability that Scotland is also able to contribute to and leverage for our advantage.
Economic multiplier effect
Question: How does space commercialisation benefit industries outside of the space sector?
Daniel Smith:
Insights from satellite data are already performing a crucial role in agriculture, maritime, energy, finance, defence and security, transport and logistics, you name it. We're seeing space data used for healthcare, sports and the creative industries. When you add position, navigation and timing with GPS and weather forecasting into the mix, it quickly becomes obvious that we benefit from and rely upon space technology more than we realise. In fact, when I recently spoke at a St. Andrew's Day event in Australia to promote how Scottish geospatial firms could increase efficiency and reduce costs for the audiences' non-space businesses, I emphasised the space sector's need to change the perception of space from exploration (NASA, Mars, etc) to preservation, and get better at sharing how most commercial space technology isn't about space at all, it's about supporting our economy, our society and the way we live our lives.
There are cross sector opportunities with photonics, robotics and advanced manufacturing, all of which are used in space, and which have developed solutions from a space perspective that can be applied to terrestrial solutions to amplify their effectiveness. The same applies to the reverse case too, providing synergies that then expand out into sectors such as precision agriculture, manufacturing of healthcare components and new renewable energy solutions such as space based solar power.
Building resilience and independence
Question: Building resilience and independence is a recurring theme in discussions about Scotland’s space ambitions. What’s your perspective on this?
Daniel Smith:
You only have to look at Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine and the role that satellite imagery has served in uncovering falsehoods and supporting the countries defence efforts to see the importance of space for safeguarding our citizens. My wife is Ukrainian, as is my business partner, and I was in Ukraine for many weeks up until the month before the invasion where despite claims from Russia that they would not attack, satellite data showed troops massing on the border. My daughter might have been born in Ukraine, in one of the maternity wards that were bombed, if it had not been for that information prompting us to return to Scotland and not take any risks.
Space and defence have always been closely linked and unfortunately, we cannot be certain of safety from the nefarious acts of others. Space, however, can quickly alert us to such dangers as they arise.
Inspiring the next generation
Question: How do you see the Scottish space sector inspiring the next generation?
Daniel Smith:
People often say that young people are most inspired by two things; dinosaurs and space! There's no doubt that rockets lifting off from Scotland will get current and future generations considering the many space jobs available - technical and non-technical. But for me its the ways in which the satellite data (enabled by those launch vehicles lifting off from Scottish soil) can be applied to Earth's challenges that is most inspiring. There are local companies like EOLAS using space-derived datasets to track endangered species, and others who have looked at countering transport poverty from space. Then there's other areas of innovation, with companies like Craft Prospect using space to advance quantum key distribution, and organisations considering how Scotland's robotics and AI strengths can be utilised for future in-orbit servicing and manufacturing - building things in space, rather than on Earth.
When thinking about the opportunities of the future and the role of upcoming generations in advancing the sector, I'd return to the subject of sustainability. For me the biggest threat to the industry, and therefore to all the space-enabled applications and benefits we've talked about that society enjoys, is the millions of pieces of debris and junk orbiting Earth and threatening to collide with satellites at any moment.
To come back to my earlier point about space technology actually being about Earth rather than space, and more focused on preservation than exploration, I feel that my children's generation and beyond will be more dedicated to sustainability and environmental protection than any generation before it. If that's the case, then they'll find that space has the answers, and poses some of the questions, that they could dedicate meaningful careers to applying and resolving.
Vision for the future
Question: It’s clear that Scotland’s space ambitions are about more than just launching rockets. What’s your vision for the sector in the coming years?
Daniel Smith:
I believe Scotland has all the ingredients required to reach its ambitious space sector growth targets, building upon our 150+ space companies and proven heritage in research and academia that has supported some of the most exciting space missions in history. We are ideally placed to play a strong supporting role in many lucrative areas, as well as continuing our leadership role in European satellite manufacture and launch developments, encouraging diversity within the workforce, and ensuring that the space sector develops with sustainability and environmental protection at its core - a factor that will give us a competitive edge long into the future.
If we can increase private investment into our ecosystem to augment the ongoing support from government agencies, and become better at shouting about the demand for the kind of space technology and services that we're very good at developing, then space can continue to be the success story we're all looking for.
Ultimately, being able to demonstrate space activity at a national level has gone from a 'nice to have' to a 'need to have'. The emergence of an entrepreneurial minded commercial space sector plays into Scotland's hands, because we have always been a nation of innovators and astute business people! Our government is behind us and our industry is fortunate in that it has continual support from both the UK and European Space Agencies. It is in building up our space industry, both in a literal and promotional sense, that continued success will be achieved because of one simple fact - space is, and always will be, for everyone's benefit.
Thats a wrap!
Space Network would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to Daniel for sharing his valuable insights and taking the time to discuss Scotland's burgeoning space sector. His dedication as Scotland's first International Trade Envoy for Space, combined with his entrepreneurial activity through ventures like AstroAgency, Fire Arrow, and Skyrora, is truly inspiring. We wish Daniel continued success in both his Envoy role and his ambitious business pursuits, which are helping to place Scotland firmly on the global space map.
This interview is part of our ongoing 'BIG Interviews' series, where we engage with leading figures in the space and technology sectors to explore transformative ideas and emerging opportunities. Stay tuned for more exclusive conversations as we continue to spotlight the pioneers shaping the future.