Aecom is to pursue opportunities in the fledgling UK space industry, after the government announced that it had chosen Sutherland, Scotland, for the UK’s first spaceport.
Under the plans, US giant Lockheed Martin and spaceflight company Orbex will blast rockets into space from the vertical launch site as Britain attempts to become the first place in mainland Europe to launch satellites.
The UK Space Agency has made two separate grants worth a combined total of £23.5m to Lockheed Martin to establish vertical launch operations at Sutherland, while UK-based Orbex has been given £5.5m to build a new rocket to launch from the site.
Aecom said that with over 50 years of experience in the design, build and operations of commercial and government space launch facilities in the USA, it was also looking forward to opportunities as a result of the UK programme.
Since the inception of the UKSA programme, Aecom has provided potential sites with environmental, masterplanning and regulatory support.
The company has experience working on the Kennedy Space Center in Florida and said it wanted to develop a UK capability and skills base to support the growth of the UK Space Agency.
It added that it wanted to reskill resources from its operation of the Dounreay Nuclear facility to ensure a trained and capable workforce is available to support space launch capability and growth in the supply chain.
Aecom has also assigned Doug Johnson, vice president, aerospace enterprise services, as the focal point for the firm’s engagement with the newly proposed space launch facilities, the UK space industry supply chain, and launch providers. Johnson is a space infrastructure operations expert with over 31 years of space marketing experience.
Announcing the involvement of Lockheed Martin and Orbex at the Farnborough Air Show this week, business secretary Greg Clark said: “As a nation of innovators and entrepreneurs, we want Britain to be the first place in mainland Europe to launch satellites as part of our Industrial Strategy. The UK’s thriving space industry, research community and aerospace supply chain put the UK in a leading position to develop both vertical and horizontal launch sites.
“This will build on our global reputation for manufacturing small satellites and help the whole country capitalise on the huge potential of the commercial space age.”
Dave Swindle, Aecom’s chief executive for global defence and international, said: "This is a very exciting time for the UK space sector and we admire the UK government’s ambition and the approach it’s taking in creating a new commercial market. It builds on the UK’s heritage in aerospace and space technologies and its ability to attract international interest and investment to its leading industries. Aecom has been involved in the success of the United States’ space programme since its beginning and as a major corporation already working in this region, we are committed to bringing together our best resources to help maximise the success of this bold new programme for the UK.
“The establishment of this first vertical launch facility and the additional commitment to horizontal launch facilities at Prestwick and Newquay is a significant milestone and Aecom looks forward to being a part of the growing and profitable spaceflight industry in the United Kingdom.”
