British space race sees £240m investment despite Virgin Orbit failure
UK space race sees investment worth £240m as investors back industry despite Virgin Orbit’s failure
Investors are still pumping money into Britain’s burgeoning space sector, despite the high-profile failure of Virgin Orbit’s Cornwall rocket launch.
The UK welcomed £240 million from investors for space-related projects last year – behind only the United States and China.
London-listed space investment firm Seraphim Capital will report the numbers in findings tomorrow.
This will reveal a flurry of deals in the space sector, including 39 in Britain, 64 in China and 165 in the US.
There’s a flurry of deals in the space sector, including 39 in Britain, as the space race continues despite Richard Branson shutting down Virgin Orbit’s operations
There has been growing excitement over the UK space sector in recent years, but when Virgin Orbit’s debut space mission from Newquay Airport failed in January, this optimism was dented.
The Science, Innovation and Technology Committee of the British House of Commons said last week that the UK is ‘on the cusp of deploying Europe’s first small satellite launch capability in orbit’.
But the committee’s chairman, Greg Clark, said Britain “needs to act urgently to apply the lessons of the Cornish disappointment to the satellite launch regulatory system.”
Seraphim’s latest figures will raise hopes of future success for UK aerospace companies.
Maureen Haverty, Vice President of Seraphim, said: “Following a decline in investment towards the end of 2022, space investment has bounced back in the US, with momentum continuing in Europe and the number of deals within the region over the past 12 year by 60 percent. months.’