Downtown encourages firms to join space industry supply chain

Downtown in Business, together with the National Space Consortium and Comoo, will deliver a new project to encourage businesses to get involved with the space industry.

The consortium will develop a north west Local Space Cluster and Supply Chain for The UK Space Agency, which is responsible for efforts to explore and benefit from space. The goal is to ensure that the UK retains and grows a strategic capability in space-based systems, technologies, science and applications.

A key priority of the UK Space Agency is to capture ten per cent of the global market for space by 2030. This call supports the development of locally led propositions and plans that will support the growth of regional space sector clusters and supply chains.

Downtown's chief executive Frank McKenna said that the benefits from delivering this Space Growth Action Plan are tangible, with billions of pounds worth of new exports, up to 100,000 skilled jobs in a leading-edge sector, a range of new value-adding applications and a vibrant regional SME sector spread across the UK. Frank said: “Space plays an increasingly essential role in our daily lives. As a sector, it continues to provide an excellent opportunity to grow the UK economy and provide the new services and applications that contribute to an ever more connected world. We’re delighted to be working on this project and with businesses who want to get involved.”