Scotland Has the Foundations of a World-Class Space Industry

Scotland's space sector is no longer simply an emerging industry. From satellite manufacturing in Glasgow to launch capability in Shetland, an increasingly complete ecosystem has taken shape. The next challenge is making sure Scotland turns that capability into international commercial opportunity.

I have been paying much more attention to Scotland's space sector recently, and the more you look at what has developed here, the more impressive the picture becomes.

There is a tendency when discussing Scotland's economic future to focus on the industries we could become good at. Space is different. Much of the capability is already here.

Scotland now has 246 space organisations employing more than 7,000 people. Scottish space organisations are particularly active in manufacturing and space applications, and the sector generated £381 million in income in 2023/24.

That makes this much more than an interesting technology story. Scotland has the foundations of a significant international industry.

Glasgow's satellite manufacturing ecosystem

At the centre of that story is Glasgow.

The city has developed a concentration of satellite businesses that includes AAC Clyde Space, Spire Global, Alba Orbital and Craft Prospect, creating significant expertise in the design and manufacture of small satellites and the technologies that support them.

AAC Clyde Space has its roots in Clyde Space, founded in Glasgow in 2005, while Spire subsequently established its European operation in the city. Alba Orbital and Craft Prospect have added further capabilities to the cluster.

And this isn't theoretical capability.

In March 2026, three satellites developed by Spire Global and AAC Clyde Space in Glasgow were launched aboard SpaceX's Transporter-16 mission. The missions included technology for high-speed laser communications between satellites and demonstrations of the UK's ability to produce satellites at greater volume and lower cost.

That is a useful example of what Scotland's space sector already represents: Scottish engineering and technology being deployed as part of genuinely global space infrastructure.

An ecosystem extending beyond satellites

What makes the Scottish opportunity particularly interesting is that it doesn't stop with satellite manufacturing.

Skyrora is developing launch vehicles from Scotland, while SaxaVord Spaceport in Unst, Shetland, is creating the infrastructure required to launch satellites from Scottish soil.

Alongside the commercial businesses are organisations such as Space Scotland, the UK Space Agency and Scottish Enterprise, as well as considerable academic expertise.

The University of Strathclyde is particularly important within that ecosystem. It is also leading the development of PRISM, a proposed space innovation and research facility for Glasgow City Region involving companies and organisations including AAC Clyde Space, Spire, Skyrora, Craft Prospect, SaxaVord, BAE Systems and Space Scotland.

Put all of those pieces together and something quite unusual starts to emerge.

Scotland has expertise stretching across satellite design, manufacturing, enabling technologies, data and applications, research and increasingly launch.

That gives us the potential to build a genuinely end-to-end space economy.

Why the timing matters

The wider international context makes this particularly important.

Governments and businesses are investing heavily in space infrastructure as satellites become increasingly important to communications, defence, weather forecasting, Earth observation, navigation and countless data-driven services.

The global space economy is estimated to reach $1.8 trillion by 2035.

Scotland doesn't need to create an industry from scratch to participate in that growth. We already have companies, researchers, infrastructure and specialist expertise operating within it.

The challenge now is scale.

That means attracting investment, helping Scottish space companies reach international customers, encouraging collaboration with larger global organisations and making sure the rest of the world understands the capability that exists here.

Connecting Scottish capability with global opportunity

This is the part that particularly interests me through our work at Scottish Business Network.

Building great technology is only part of what makes an internationally successful industry. Businesses also need access to customers, investors, partners, expertise and people who can open doors into new markets.

Scotland's international community can play a much bigger role in making those connections.

If someone in Houston, New York, Singapore, Stockholm or elsewhere in our global network can connect a Scottish space business to a potential customer, investor or strategic partner, we should be actively trying to make that happen.

The same applies in reverse. Scotland should be an obvious place for international space companies looking for technology, research partners, specialist suppliers, talent or a base from which to develop their European activities.

For Scottish Business Network, that is where an established sector like space becomes particularly exciting. We can use Scotland's international business community not simply to promote what is happening here, but to create useful commercial connections around it.

From capability to scale

There will inevitably be challenges. Space is capital intensive, international competition is significant and developing launch capability is complex. Building a successful cluster requires sustained investment, skills and commercial demand, not simply ambition.

But Scotland is starting from a position of real strength.

The businesses exist. The expertise exists. The academic capability exists. Increasingly, the infrastructure exists too.

What we need to concentrate on now is connecting those assets to opportunity.

We often ask which industries could allow Scotland to punch above its weight internationally over the next decade.

Space should be very high on that list.

The sector is established and prepared for scale. Our job now is to find the customers, partners, investors and international connections that can help make that happen.