Scotland has a long and successful history of manufacturing. Our workforce has expertise and experience in areas like electronics, aerospace, and subsea oil and gas engineering. 

These skills — combined with our talent for invention — are now flowing into our dynamic and fast-growing space sector.

Satellite manufacturing companies

Scotland is one of the world's leading small satellite manufacturers.

The country has attracted some of the world’s most innovative satellite manufacturers. These include:

• Alba Orbital — a company that manufactures and supports PocketQube satellites
• AAC Clyde Space — CubeSat pioneers that offer ready-to-use solutions
• Spire — a company that designs, builds and tests nanosatellites entirely in Scotland

These companies have been able to make great use of Scotland's engineering expertise. They've also joined a robust supply chain with strengths in satellite components, cables and communications, sensors, photonics, and CubeSat modules.

Rocket and launch vehicle manufacturing companies

Scotland has the potential to become Europe's top small satellite launch market. 

In Scotland, launch vehicle manufactures can easily access spaceports and skilled engineering talent. As well as this, our innovative funding and investment schemes can help you scale up.

These advantages have attracted several top launch manufacturers, including:

• Orbex — a low-cost launch services company developing low-carbon micro-launch vehicles
• Skyrora — a company that designs, manufactures and deploys rockets for small satellite manufacturers that need to access space

Ground station antenna manufacturing

High-tech start-up Celestia recently chose to set up its headquarters in Edinburgh. This gave the company the chance to collaborate with Heriot-Watt University’s antenna research group. This partnership has since produced electronic scanning antennas based on active phase arrays for ground stations.

Scotland's flexible space launch capabilities

Scotland is a leader in UK launch capabilities. Five locations across the country are developing launch plans:

• Sutherland Spaceport opens in a new window  
• Saxa Vord Spaceport opens in a new window (Shetland)
• Spaceport Machrihanish opens in a new window (Argyll)
• Prestwick Spaceport opens in a new window  
• Spaceport 1 opens in a new window (Outer Hebrides)

These launch sites will create an end-to-end capability to design, test and build small satellites in Scotland. This means you'll have shorter supply lines, easier communications and reduced costs.

Scotland is also the ideal choice for the development of your launch vehicle. Sub-orbital capability will be available at Spaceport 1 in the Outer Hebrides. Engine testing capability will be available in Kinloss, Shetland and Machrihanish.

Scotland: the ideal space launch location

Scotland’s smaller size makes it easy to connect with launch sites. This means you can launch satellites without the need for ride sharing and keep more control over where the satellite goes.

Scotland's Highlands and Islands offer a strategic location to easily reach low earth orbits using vertical launch. The landscape benefits from wide, open areas, and the nearby coast reduces the risk from launch vehicle debris.

As well as three sites for vertical launch, there are also opportunities for horizontal launch. Astraius — the UK's first commercial horizontal launch company for small to midsized satellites — is working with Prestwick Spaceport to deliver horizontal launch services. The first launches will take place from as early as 2024.

Scotland's advantages as a launch location are already attracting global attention. A range of companies — including US-based Lochhead Martin and ABL Space Systems, and German launch vehicle manufacturers Rocket Factory Augsburg and HyImpulse — are looking to launch from Scotland.

Why Scotland is a world leader in space data collection

Edinburgh is known as the 'space data capital of Europe'. This is because there is a large number of space data science companies located in the city. They benefit from easy access to Edinburgh's world-class data science academic network.

This capability exists throughout Scotland. Over 25 companies in Scotland use earth observation data to create insights for their businesses. Applications cover many different sectors, such as forestry, agriculture, energy transition, maritime and green finance.

Scotland's space data users range from nature tech companies such as Space Intelligence to sustainability reporting services such as Ecometrica.

Get world-class support for your space data project

If you invest in Scotland's space sector, you'll have the support of several excellent research and development organisations:

• The Geosciences School at the University of Edinburgh opens in a new window is one of the largest groupings of geographers, Earth scientists and environmental scientists in the UK. Its research in satellite observation and data modelling is being used to inform local, national and international environmental policies.
• Bayes Centre opens in a new window is the University of Edinburgh’s innovation hub for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence. It uses cutting-edge space and satellite research to make a social and economic difference.
• The University of Edinburgh's School of Informatics opens in a new window is the largest European centre of its kind. It hosts academics, researchers and students in artificial intelligence, cognitive science and computational linguistics. The School produces more world-leading research in informatics than any other university in the UK.

Using this expertise, Scotland has created a global hub for space data applications. Many of these applications align with Scotland's net zero ambitions.

So, whether you want to measure shrinking forests, monitor animal biodiversity or use satellite-driven intelligence to commercialise real-time applications across the globe, Scotland’s data sector can help you.