2023: a space odyssey

This article looks back at 2023, that will be recorded as a very busy year in the UK space industry’s long, adventure-filled journey, and will draw out some of the key reports and guidance that have been published during those 12 months. It also looks forward to certain challenges for 2024 and beyond.

The exciting news that on 17 December, 2023 the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority granted a spaceport licence to Shetland Space Centre Ltd, commonly referred to as SaxaVord, rounded off a year that began with the UK’s first orbital launch from UK soil – more on that below.

SaxaVord’s licence allows up to 30 launches per year from Unst and so all eyes are now on the construction project there, that has attracted headlines of its own. With reports that fresh funding has been secured, SaxaVord is hopefully now in a good position to complete construction and then to achieve the UK’s first vertical launch in 2024.

This means that 2024 will be another busy year for the CAA as it considers applications for the other licences that underpin a successful launch. In October 2023 the CAA published an excellent guide to space licensing in the UK:

Space licensing in the UK (caa.co.uk)

This document sets out a clear summary of the stages and timings of applications for the various licences and permissions that are required, and of the parties and agencies involved, with a reminder that timescales are subject to change given the complex and dynamic nature of airspace management. We mention this again below, but this is an interesting topic that we will look at in a subsequent article.

The report also summarises the 7 tests that must be passed as part of a launch project, including national security, financial and technical resources, safety, and environmental assessments. The challenges of sustainability in the space industry are another fascinating topic in itself.

From a Scottish perspective SaxaVord’s good news is particularly exciting given the other active areas of the space launch supply chain within the Scottish economy, particularly in the manufacturing of small satellites, rockets and launch vehicles. Other areas where Scotland maintains a prominent, even leading position are in data analysis and earth observation. All of this sits well with the UK’s vision to be a world leader in the small satellites launch market.

Looking back to the start of the year, on 9 January 2023, the UK achieved its first orbital launch, from Spaceport Cornwall. This was a horizontal launch, with Virgin Orbit’s rocket (Launcher One) being launched from a modified Boeing 747. This was a pathfinder project and while Launcher One made it into orbit, the satellites onboard were not placed into orbit due to a technical failure.

Pathfinder projects of course require critical reflection so that lessons can be learned. In December 2023 the UK Space Agency published its lessons learned report:

Pathfinder Launch Lessons Learned report_Dec 2023 (publishing.service.gov.uk)

The themes that emerged from the various consultations and workshops resulted in a number of recommendations that HMG is taking forward. From a legal perspective, perhaps unsurprisingly, the first theme is a review of the regulatory landscape, and it will be interesting to see how the goals of streamlining the process are taken forward. The Department for Transport has commenced a Space Industry Act post-implementation review, that is due to complete in April 2024.

It is not just domestic law and regulation that feature in the lessons learned – theme three is to review the approach to international agreement, which is particularly in focus in terms of goals around the flexible use of airspace (FUA). FUA is a concept developed by Eurocontrol and implemented nationally. Eurocontrol is an intergovernmental organisation with 41 member states (including the UK) and 2 comprehensive agreement states (Israel and Morocco). Eurocontrol is committed to building, together with its civil and military partners, a Single European Sky that will deliver the air traffic management performance that is required in a fast-evolving global industry, and that will have to accommodate growth in space launches. This will have consequences for all of us in terms of air travel, and the cost of it.

Looking ahead to 2024, confidence is high that SaxaVord will achieve its first launch, but given the pressures on airspace and the complex way it is governed, much detailed work is required if we are to see launches in the kind of numbers that are commensurate with our stated ambitions as a spacefaring nation.

Ralph Riddiough

January 2024