Scotland’s space sector is set to become the greenest on Earth after a commitment was made to reduce environment impact through a historic space sustainability roadmap.

The first-of-its-kind roadmap sets out the steps required to achieve the long-term goals of Scottish space missions.

Plans include making future missions space debris neutral, have zero emissions created from on-the-ground activities, and for Scotland to gain global recognition as a leader in sustainable space.

The roadmap also addresses areas such as the environmental impacts of building, fuelling, and launching satellites, as well as the importance of promoting satellite data for environmental monitoring.

Developed in collaboration with Space Scotland’s Environmental Task Force and funded by Scottish Enterprise, the roadmap has been produced by space strategy firm AstroAgency in partnership with Glasgow-based Optimat.

Business Minister Ivan McKee said: “Scotland’s space industry has enormous growth potential and is rightly recognised as a key new market opportunity within the Scottish Government’s National Strategy for Economic Transformation.

“Last year, the Scottish Government and partners set out our collective ambition for Scotland to become Europe’s leading space nation, taking a £4-billion share of the global space market and creating 20,000 jobs by 2030.”

However, alongside this comes the responsibility to mitigate the environmental impacts of the space sector. Back in 2019, Space Scotland established an Environmental Task Force working group, comprising around 20 space sector representatives, to better understand the impact of the space industry on both Earth and Low Earth orbit.

McKee continued: “The Scottish Government recognises the key role of space in the global fight against climate change. The Scottish space sector shares this collective responsibility and is already innovating through the use of greener fuels, lightweight materials, smart design and reusability.

“The Scottish Space Sustainability Roadmap is the next step in helping the sector reach net zero by 2045 and in setting an example for other nations.

“These are exactly the kind of actions necessary to help boost productivity, create sustainable jobs and position Scotland in the vanguard of responsible users of space across every part of the industry.”

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As one of the early actions identified in the roadmap, Scottish Enterprise, together with partners Scottish Government and The Data Lab, has launched a £300,000 innovation challenge to fund innovative solutions using space data to aid Scotland’s transition to net zero.

Successful applications will secure funding of between £20,000 and £30,000 with the fund closing for applications on 26th September, 2022.

Jane Martin, managing director at Scottish Enterprise, said: “It’s almost a year since Glasgow hosted COP26, where world leaders gathered to address climate change and the global action needed. This roadmap represents another historic moment in our journey towards net zero and is further proof of Scotland’s commitment to take positive environmental action.

“By working together, industry, academia and the public sector can find solutions to the worldwide challenge of making space more sustainable, helping to protect the Earth and space for future generations.”

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