New funding for satellite device could boost Scottish space industry

Published on Sunday 14 February 2010 20:28

AN EDINBURGH-BASED defence electronics firm has won 600,000 (£522,000) in funding to complete the development of a pioneering satellite orientation system that could put Scotland at the cutting edge of space technology.

A small team at the Edinburgh office of Selex Galileo, a multinational division of Italian industrial group Finmeccanica, has developed an advanced gyro device that helps satellites remain oriented in space.

The firm, which has worked with two other UK companies to develop the "disruptive" technology, has won the funding from the UK's Technology Strategy Board, which invests in research to stimulate technological innovation.

Mark Hartree, capability manager for Selex Galileo, said the funding could boost the company's chances of winning a massive contract to use the gyro in the European Space Agency's (ESA) multi-billion-euro Galileo satellite navigation system, Europe's answer to the American Global Positioning System (GPS).

If the deal goes ahead it would be the "biggest ever" for Scotland's burgeoning space industry, it was claimed.

"We made very good sales last year – the market is very interested." said Hartree. "We have persuaded the Technology Strategy Board, and if the market knows the UK government is supportive, it does make a difference. It is the nearest thing to a shop window effect."

Already Selex provides the gyros to ESA's global monitoring satellite, Sentinel 3.

The news of the funding comes after a report last week set out ambitious plans to grow the UK's space industry to be worth 40 billion per year by 2030, providing 100,000 new jobs.

The Space Innovation and Growth Team (Space IGT) set out a 20-year vision for the UK to grow its share of the expanding global space market from 6 per cent to 10 per cent.

Work ensuring Scotland benefits from the new space race is being led by the Scottish branch of the aerospace, defence and security industry trade organisation, ADS.

Warrick Malcolm, head of public affairs for ADS Scotland, said: "There are genuinely world-class companies in Scotland, but because it is a small sector in economic terms it doesn't get the profile.

"But they are there and the opportunity for growth is enormous. And it is exactly the sort of technology and skills Scotland wants to see more of."

Currently ADS Scotland is working with Scottish Enterprise to scope the size of the sector north of the Border. Like Selex Galileo, space-oriented businesses are often divisions of larger companies.

According to an ADS report on the sector, the UK's "cluster" of space companies is based around Portsmouth and Stevenage, dominated by large firms such as Astrium and Inmarsat. But ADS said Scotland and a few other UK regions were "developing dynamic regional space capabilities".

Craig Clark, the founder of Glasgow-based satellite firm Clydespace cites the strength of Scotland's education system, with dedicated and industry-related programmes at Strathclyde, Glasgow, Edinburgh and St Andrews Universities. Clark, a graduate of Glasgow, founded his firm five years ago and says he has doubled turnover every year working with clients including Nasa, the ESA, Selex and the Turkish government. The firm employs about 20 people and expects to reach a turnover of 1.5m this year.

Space IGT will host an event in Glasgow on 6 March to brief Scottish firms on the potential of the space industry.

Hartree said the industry has reached its "second age", with essential industries such as transport and telecoms reliant on space-borne technology to keep going.