Today, Teledyne e2v were delighted to welcome Lord Callanan, Minister for Aviation, Vicky Ford, MP for Chelmsford and other leading UK space companies to discuss the UK Space Industry Bill
Britain produces about a quarter of all large communications satellites manufactured worldwide, and is a world leader in the production of smaller satellites. The industry is worth almost £14bn a year and employs close to 40,000 people in the UK.
Last year’s Queen’s Speech set out plans to develop the UK space sector by creating spaceports which would allow small satellites to be launched, most likely through “horizontal launches” where planes take off from conventional runways, and then launch satellites into space from high altitude. This is much cheaper than vertical launch rocket systems. The Space Industry Bill will also address the issue of insurance which is prohibitively expensive for smaller companies. Adding the capability to launch satellites for the UK will bring the opportunity for more jobs and investment. Lord Callanan is taking the legislation through parliament, and the companies had the opportunity to discuss the bill in detail with him.
Vicky Ford said "I have supported the space and aerospace sector for many years and was very honoured to have all the companies and the Minister come to Chelmsford. Big thanks to Teledyne e2v for hosting the event."