There’s no final frontier for our space pioneers

Naomi Pryde heads DLA Piper’s Litigation and Regulatory practice in Scotland

The space sector is witnessing unprecedented growth and innovation. The World Economic Forum and McKinsey’s joint report published this month states that space offers a $US 1.8 trillion opportunity for global economic growth. Each week brings with it news of an exciting development in space from somewhere in the world. I was particularly taken by the story about Astrolab’s plans for product placement and advertising on the moon.

Closer to home, Scotland has seen some exciting developments of its own.

The inaugural Space Scotland Nordics Summit, hosted by the British Embassy in Copenhagen took place in March, which also marked the UK’s largest space industry event, Space-Comm Expo. Over 160 leading suppliers showcased their work at the Expo and attendees had the opportunity to hear from Richard Lochhead, the Scottish Minister for Small Business, Innovation, Tourism, and Trade. The Minister emphasised the rapid growth, scale and innovation of Scotland's space sector and highlighted Glasgow's production of more small satellites than anywhere else in Europe. He also spoke of Scotland’s ambitious goals of creating 20,000 jobs and contributing £4 billion to the economy within the next decade. Space Comm is coming to Scotland for the first time in September.

Paris Space Week, also in March, was another flagship event for the global space industry. 1,500 space professionals attended from more than 40 countries. There were several key players from the Scottish space sector in attendance. I spoke as part of an esteemed panel about dispute avoidance. I stated that international arbitration is likely to be seen as an attractive form of dispute resolution for space disputes given the ability to globally enforce arbitral awards. Further, arbitrators can be selected based on their expertise in space law, engineering, or other relevant field, and the fact that arbitration is generally recognised as being confidential. Scotland has a strong reputation for arbitration. It is possible to specify Scotland as the seat of arbitration in any domestic or international arbitration clause and the Scottish Arbitration Centre has its own institutional rules for use where parties wish to have the Centre administer their arbitration.

The UK Government’s Spring Budget confirmed that £10 million of funding will be made available to support the first orbital launch which is due to take place at SaxaVord Spaceport in Shetland later this year.

Additionally, the UK Space Agency has announced its plan to establish a presence in Scotland. A new office will open in Edinburgh later this year, further solidifying Scotland's position in the UK's thriving space industry.

The World From Space, a two-year national STEM programme exploring the relevance of UK space science funded by UK Space Agency, runs until December this year. Dynamic Earth was one of the 22 UK science centres and museums to deliver the programme, which had something for everyone. My son (aged three) was particularly taken by the Penguin Poo from Space exhibition!

Finally, the University of Strathclyde Business School has announced the first Executive Space Course to be offered in Scotland by the International Space University which will take place in May.As Scotland increasingly emerges as a global player in the space industry, its burgeoning space sector presents an exciting opportunity for economic growth, technological innovation and international collaboration.