The global space market is expected to be worth £543 billion by 2020. In 2018, the Space Growth Partnership outlined a strategy to double the value of space to wider industrial activities from £250 billion to £500 billion, generate an extra £5 billion in exports, and attract £3 billion of inward investment.
The space sector has tripled in value since 2000, despite its annual growth rate slowing down over the past five years. In 2017, the space industry generated £14.8 billion in revenue, which is forecast to grow by 4.8% to £15.5 billion in 2017/18. The expected global increase in commercial space activities means the UK space industry will continue to grow when it comes to export intensity, investment and funding.
The space industry is growing four times faster than the rest of the UK economy and represents 7% of the global space market
The global space market will be worth £400 billion by 2030, based on current estimates from the UK government’s Space Innovation and Growth Strategy. The UK space sector has experienced a significant growth in income, growth and exports, representing 5.1% of the global space economy in 2016/17. Income was forecasted to grow 4.8% to £15.5 billion in 2017/18.
The UK space industry is very commercially-focused, with 82% of income generated through sales to consumers and businesses in 2018. The public sector share of income has also increased from 14% in 2014/15 to 18% (Space Agencies 4%, Government 14%), but remains lower than the global average of 20%.
The UK government hopes to capture 10% of the global space market by 2030, partly through the development of space launch sites like Spaceport Cornwall across the country.
Expenditure on research and development in 2016/17 was £566 million, with space manufacturing claiming the highest R&D activity at 45% of the industry total. Space manufacturing was also the most R&D-intensive, having reinvested 14% of its income into future developments.
These figures show the importance of commercialisation, as manufacturing and ancillary services maintain their intensity (63% of R&D) through external funding. Overall, an equivalent of 10% of the space sector’s direct GVA is reinvested into research and development - six times the UK average of 1.7%.
The Stay in Cornwall Spaceport Case File
Stay in Cornwall's Spaceport Case File analyses official government reports covering the UK space sector, looking at its carbon emissions, economical impact, employment rate and educational interest to date. The case file also looks at the UK's key space explorations, contributions and discoveries, to highlight the history surrounding spaceports.
Sources include the Office for National Statistics, Spaceport Cornwall, London Economics and the Space Innovation and Growth Strategy.