The Department for Transport has been consulting on and developing the rules for regulating the UK space industry, which it hopes to unlock “a potential £4bn of market opportunities” over the next decade while creating thousands of jobs.
At present, there are no spaceports anywhere in Europe, with European companies and agencies using spaceports in Russia, the Americas, and elsewhere for their launches. However, the UK government is pinning hopes on the establishment of Europe’s first spaceport in a rural part of the country. Proposed locations include the Western Isles, Glasgow, Machrihanish, Sutherland, and Shetland (all in Scotland), Newquay in Cornwall, and Snowdonia in North Wales.
It is hoped the UK space industry will launch satellites to improve satellite navigation systems, and boost the monitoring of weather patterns and climate change. The Department for Transport also said hypersonic flights and space tourism trips, such as those recently...