SSS1 - Welcome to the Space Sector

Space Science and Sector

UKSA Space Cluster Microcredentials

01

welcome to the space sector

1. You will be able to state that the UK space sector is booming and is in the midst of a new space revolution, especially with CubeSats.
2. You will be able to define the terms upstream and downstream space sectors, and give an example of each.
3. You will be able to describe the major aims of the Scottish space sector.
4. You will be able to describe the wider UK space scene including the UK Space Agency, Space Clusters, Launch UK and describe new proposals to make the UK the small satellite space launch capital of Europe.
5. You will be able to describe the wider international space scene, listing the major agencies such as ESA and NASA.

learning objectives

1. You will be formally assessed in a seperate assessment activity once you have completed each module.
2. Within the module you will sometimes encounter Test Your Knowledge quizzes - these are only to help your learning and show you what an assessment style question looks like. They are NOT part of your actual assessment for the module.
3. To the right is an example of what a Test Your Knowledge quizz will look like.

a note on QUIZZES AND assessment

• According to the report Size and Health of the UK Space Industry 2022 there are 1600 space organisations in the UK, with Scotland home to 133 of them (according to A Strategy for Space In Scotland).
• In 2021 UK space industry growth was 5.1%, far exceeding the global growth of 1.6%.
• Total income from space was £ 254 M (2017/18) in Scotland alone.
• In the UK Scotland the sector employed 8800 employees in 2017/18 and held a 14% share of the UK Space GDP.
• The sector is indeed booming !

+ INFO

Welcome to a booming space sector

• Space has become a national asset for the UK and for Scotland in particular. Space provides the backbone technology and services for our modern society such as connectivity for online banking, broadband services, GPS positioning and navigation, and provides continuous observation of the earth critical not only for day to day weather services but also for monitoring of the health of our planet.
• In tandem with this there have been genuine breakthroughs in how we use space and 'do space' in recent years. Launch costs have come down and launch availability has increased. Coupled with this has been a revolution in how we build saetllites.

+ INFO

space as a critical services provider

• Up until the late 1990’s almost all satellites were very large. Even today many satellites are large, sophisticated and very expensive to build and to launch.
• The UK at present only has one company able to build satellites of this size (Airbus Defence and Space Ltd). These projects take years to develop and hundreds of millions of pounds in funds. Any failure of the satellite or launch vehicle is catastrophic.
• On the right you will see a large satellite called Sentinel 3 from ESA which is a 1250 kg satellite built for Earth Observation.

+ INFO

traditional satellites

• Since the start of the 21st century the trend towards miniaturisation has resulted in being able to build small, lightweight satellites which are much cheaper to build and launch.
• A CubeSat is a small satellite based on a basic 10 cm x 10 cm x 10 cm cube structure. These ‘1U’ structures can be cascaded up into 2U, 3U etc.
• NOTE: You are expected to know the basic 10 cm x 10 cm x 10 cm form factor of a 1U CubeSat for the assessment so take note of it.
• A PocketQube is even smaller, based on a 5 cm x 5 cm x 5 cm structure.
• This has been a paradigm shift away from the large traditional systems to a much more agile approach which is often refered to as New Space. Scotland and the rest of the UK are world leaders in the New Space field.

+ INFO

the new space revolution

• You will often hear the terms upstream and downstream space companies.
• Upstream companies are actively involved in the hardware for space including the spacecraft and ground support equipment. For example Airbus Defence and Space is a very large upstream space company in Stevenage. AAC Clyde Space is a medium sized upstream space company in Glasgow.
• Downstream space companies make use of the data and provide services. Examples would be satellite broadcasting companies or providers of Earth Observation data and analysis such as Ecometrica.

+ INFO

new terms: upstream and downstream space companies

• Across the UK and particularly in Scotland the space industry has been set ambiotious targets. We will only consider the targets from Space Scotland but these fit well with the UK as a whole.
• An annual contribution to the Scottish economy of at least £4 billion.
• A five times increase in the workforce.
• A European leader for commercial space developments.
• A range of managed launch and orbital services, supporting the highest cadence in Europe.
• An increased and diverse workforce representative of Scottish society.
• This is an excellent time to be joining the space industry in the UK and Scotland in particular.

+ INFO

a sector with high ambitions

+ INFO

Test your Knowledge

• You will often have the chance to view very short videos which illustrate what the module teaches. When you do so please view actively, making connections and extensions with what you have learned in the module and extensions beyond the module.
• In this video AAC Clyde Space are visited and the basic structure and New Space paradigm are shown.
• Incidently, Glasgow builds more satellites than any other city in Europe.

+ INFO

activity : cubesats

• Across the UK you will find the same innovative enthusiasm for traditional space and for new space. London and the South East is home for the majority of space companies but there is significant space activity elsewhere.
• The UK Government has recognised that space is a national assett and vital for the country. To this end it has been pro-active in building a space-friendly infrastructure for UK space companies.
• The image on the right is the Harwell Space Cluster is a great example of this, bringing together over 100 organisations at one site.(Image:ESA)

+ INFO

the national scene

• There are many branches of the UK government with an involvement in space. We will only briefly list some here to give you an appreciateion for the depth of support which exists in this country. You do NOT need to memorize these for assessment !
• We hope that having this information all in one place will be to your benefit.
• Advance to the next slide to see the list of UK Government departments with responsibility for space.

+ INFO

uk government space organizations

• The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy is the central department with coordinating responsibility for civil space policy.
• The UK Space Agency develops and delivers UK civil space programmes.
• Also involved are the following (you don't need to remember this list !) :
• The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
• The Department for Transport

• The Department for International Trade
• The Department for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport
• The Cabinet Office

+ INFO

uk government space organizations

• The space industry is surrounded by many different space regulations both nationally and also internationally. You will inevitably meet these frequently in your work. These regulations may be about the size of your satellite or interfaces required, or they could be abllut licences for transmitting satellite tekemetry, or they could be licences to operate a spaceport - the list is huge !
• It is not feasible in this course to do more than make you aware of this. The image on the right shows the major UK space regulations. It is important to recognise that the UK government is working on providing a reulatory framework which will enable space to thrive, including small satellite launch services.
• Click on the Space Licensing image to the right to download a copy in pdf form from the CAA.
• ASK a manager in your company what regulations your company have to be careful to meet.

+ INFO

space regulations

• The United Kingdom Space Agency (UKSA) is an executive agency responsible for providing advice on the governments national space strategy and delivering programmes that implement this strategy.It is based in Swindon.
• The video is a short but informative and motivational introduction to the work of UKSA. Note how it amplifies what you have already learned in this module.
• You will often have the oportunity to watch videos as part of this course. When you do so watch ACTIVELY, taking notes and making connections. However the actual contents of videos, while very imprtant to help learn the material, is not itself directly assessed.

+ INFO

activity : discover the uk space agency

• The UK has various space Hubs or Clusters, where agencies, local government, Universities, Colleges and companies can all work together on developing space concepts.
• You have already encountered the Harwell Space Cluster with over 100 industry, academia and public sector organisations. Its aim is to make it easier to collaborate and share knowledge, driving multidisciplinary innovation.
• Another good example of a space cluster or hub is the Glasgow Space Hub, where leading New Space companies are co-located with world class research Universities such as Glasgow and Strathclyde University, and three world class Colleges, including City of Glasgow College, the largest college in Scotland and one of the largest in Europe.

+ INFO

space clusters and hubs for collaborative innovation

• This short but excellent video vividly illustrates the value of bringing different groups together to synergetically create innovative solutions and products. It is from a major space hub at Leicester Space Park and features Rolls Royce with innovative proposals for nuclear powered microreactors in space.
• As you watch note how being based in the Space Park is a vital to collaboration and training.

+ INFO

activity : discover a space hub

• UK Launch seek to promote the UK as the premier launch site for small satellites in Europe.
• The government has put together legislation which will enable UK launch companies to offer state of the art launch services to customers.
• UK companies are starting up not only to operate the new spaceports but also to build the launch vehicles themselves. An example is the Scottish based company Skyrora.

+ INFO

making the uk the launch capital of europe

Launch UK

Launch UK Spaceports

• You will download two excellent brochures for Launch UK.
• The first is centred on Launch UK itself and reinforces all the major points of this module.
• The second focuses on the UK Spaceports themsleves.
• Take some time to read through these brochures later as they will give you insight above and beyond the introduction we can give you here.
• Click the buttons to the right for pdf downloads.

+ INFO

activity: download launch uk brochures

+ INFO

Test your Knowledge

• To finish this first module we will look at some international space organisations you will encounter.
• The main organisation which we will often be using in the course is the European Space Agency (ESA), which manages the space program of Europe. Although the UK withdrew from the EU, it is still a major member of ESA.
• ESA has its headquarters in Paris, major centres at ESTEC, ESOC . The major European launch centre is at Kourou in Guiana in South America, on the equator.
• The major space agency we will encounter is of course NASA, the National Aeronatitics and Space Administration in the USA.
• Other major agencies include the Russian Agency ROSCOSMOS, China National Space Agency (CNSA), Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), and Japan Areospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).

+ INFO

the international space ecosystem

+ INFO

Test your Knowledge

+ INFO

Test your Knowledge

You should now be able to:

• State the across the UK the space industry is booming.
• State that one reason for this is the recognition by the UK government of space as a vital assett for both present and future.
• Describe traditional vs New Space paradigms with particular reference to CubeSats.
• Define upstream and downstream space sectors and give an example of each.
• Explain that regulations are increasingly important in the UK space sector and recognise the importance of the Space Industry Act 2018.
• Briefly describe the role of the UK Space Agency.
• Explain why clusters and hubs are important, and give an example of a space hub.
• Know that UK Launch are actively engaign with spaceports across the UK to make this country the leader in Europe for small satellite launches, and to recognise the proposed sites in the UK from a list.
• Know that the major space agency in Europe is the European Space Agency, with headquartes in Paris and main launch site in Kourou, Guiana.
• Know that the civilian spoace agency of the USA is the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) with major launch site at Cape Canaveral in Florida.

+ INFO

module 1 summary

Press back on your browser to exit

Please continue to the next section of the course.

THANK YOU!