UK Space Agency expected launch infrastructure spend cut by 66% | New Civil Engineer

The figures were revealed in its Updated May 2024: Finance summary table which was published on 24 May.

The table details its spend from 2022 to 2025. In the original figures from 2022, the agency said it planned to spend £544M in 2022/23, £600M in 2023/24 and £606M in 2024/2025.

The recently released figures have revised these figures upwards, with a budget of £647M in 2022/23, £641M in 2023/24 and £611M in 2024/25.

Explaining why spending on launch activities fell, a spokesperson said: “The spending on Launch was re-profiled to reflect the current anticipated timing of launch activities, and the grant-funded pathfinder launches from Sutherland (Orbex) and Shetland (Lockheed Martin/ABL) spaceports.

The UKSA spokesperson noted that decisions about longer-term funding after March 2025 would need to be taken by the next government. In addition, with the General Election scheduled for 4 July 2024, parliament will be able to review UKSA’s budget.

In the last budget of the outgoing government, £10M was awarded to the SaxaVord spaceport on the island of Unst in Shetland.

The then chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced the support in his statement to the House of Commons, and the official ‘red book’ which lists the full details of the budget stated: “The government will make available £10M of funding to SaxaVord Spaceport to support orbital launch in 2024, subject to due diligence.”

UKSA confirmed to NCE that the £10M was allocated through the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) rather than its own budget figures.

UKSA’s latest budget includes “some investments in UK-based-space infrastructure” including the “Space Clusters Infrastructure Fund, and contributions to projects such as the National Space Propulsion Test Facility in Westcott,” according to the UKSA spokesperson.

UK space sector says UKSA support “critical”

An Orbex spokesperson said: “We are continuing to make excellent progress on the construction of the Sutherland Spaceport.

“With pre-launch testing underway, the ongoing support from the UKSA is critical as we continue working toward our shared goal of making the UK a central hub for European space flight.”

A Lockheed Martin spokesperson said: “We would always support continued investment in a UK launch programme to assure the UK has access to space.”

SaxaVord declined to comment.

Recent UK civil space sector developments

SaxaVord spaceport was granted a range licence by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA in April 2024.

The licence means that the spaceport on the isle of Unst can issue warning notices to keep people out of hazardous areas, perform surveillance of those areas and monitor the progress of rockets in flight.

The spaceport is Western Europe’s only fully licenced vertical launch spaceport.

In May 2024, it was announced that a road floating on a peat bog had been installed at Sutherland spaceport on the A’Mhòine peninsula in the north of Scotland.

The work was carried out by contractor Dynamic Concepts for Orbex, which owns and operates the spaceport.

Figures from the UK Space Agency’s 2022 corporate plan

Figures from the UK Space Agency’s May 2024 update

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