Glasgow swaps ships for satellites after embracing Britain’s burgeoning space industry
Prime Minister Theresa May has created a task force of engineering and aerospace experts, led by the UK Space Agency
A shipbuilding hub since the days of the British Empire, the Scottish city of Glasgow is now reaching for the stars with a growing space satellite industry.
Glasgow builds more satellites than any city outside of the United States, according to space industry experts, specialising in small “CubeSats” that can be used for anything from weather forecasting to global positioning.
“Scotland has always been famous for making ships – and today we’re making spaceships,” said Peter Anderson, head of business development at satellite maker Clyde Space.
The company’s offices are just a few metres from the imposing Finnieston Crane, a relic of the River Clyde’s shipbuilding past once used to lift tanks and steam trains onto ships.
Clyde Space launched Scotland’s first ever satellite in 2014 and within two years it was producing six satellites every month. That set off a period of rapid growth in the space industry, which insiders hope will get a further boost from rumoured plans to build two new spaceports in Scotland.
Scotland has always been famous for making ships – and today we’re making spaceships
Britain’s plans for a home-grown space industry have been stepped up amid concerns it will be banned after Brexit from bidding for contracts on the European Union’s £9 billion (US$12 billion) Galileo global positioning system.