Devised by the UK Space Agency, Space for Everyone is a UK-wide tour designed to inspire the future space workforce, shining a light on the country’s burgeoning space sector and the variety of career opportunities within it.

After previously attending the Aberdeen event in August, Orbex will once again provide visitors with a glimpse into rocket building and spaceflight, offering a variety of activities, educational resources, and insights into the company’s own operations.

The tour will visit Glasgow’s George Square from the 21st of September through the 25th, with Orbex participating on the 21st and 22nd.

The Scots rocket company is set to take the opportunity to address the high level of interest in the rapidly emerging Scottish spaceflight industry, particularly among younger generations, offering freebies, activity books for kids, and informational resources about its Prime space rocket.

Prime itself is a 19-metre long rocket designed to launch small satellites into polar and sun-synchronous orbits, and has been engineered to leave zero debris on Earth and in orbit.

Space for Everyone attendees will also get to see videos showing the Orbex Prime space rocket, as well as the construction of the launch platform at the test site in Kinloss. The launch of Prime is expected to mark the first vertical rocket launch from the UK mainland.

“Our commitment to the community goes beyond just business. Engaging with young people who will make up the next generation of space industry professionals, is a privilege,” said Martin Coates, the CEO of Orbex.

“We’re looking forward to showcasing some of the fascinating work underway at Forres and Sutherland and provide a glimpse into Scotland’s pioneering role in the future of global spaceflight. At our last Space for Everyone event, we gave out 1,250 activity books to kids and adults. So, let’s see if we can beat that in Glasgow!”

Matt Archer, the director of launch at the UK Space Agency, also commented, saying: “We’re delighted to bring our Space for Everyone tour to Glasgow so young people and their families can learn not just about space, but also about the vibrant space sector and the exciting career opportunities available in the field.”

“The space sector is diverse and requires people from all backgrounds and with a variety of skills – many not traditionally associated with it. The tour proves you don’t have to be a rocket scientist, or even an astronaut, as there are a host of talents needed to bring space closer to our daily lives and improve our understanding of this critical part of the environment for the benefit of the planet and its people.”

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The UK Space Industry’s Skills Gap

The Space for Everyone tour — and Orbex’s appearance at its next stop — comes at a pivotal time: This time last week, DIGIT covered a report which found that the UK’s space industry is being “throttled” by the ongoing skills gap.

Specifically, the UK Space Agency- and Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology-commissioned report discovered that over half (52%) of organisations in the sector cited skills gaps in their workforce.

Difficulties in recruiting new staff (48%), new staff not yielding the necessary skills (45%), and existing staff leaving their roles (34%) have prompted the gaps, which have then led to issues such as an increased workload for the remaining workforce as well as delays in product development.

In particular, firms pointed to a need for more software and data skills (72%) to fill gaps, which is higher than other technical areas such as electronics design (43%) and systems engineering (39%).

On the report’s findings, professor Anu Ohja OBE, the director of championing space at the UK Space Agency, noted that: “We need differentiated programmes with focused interventions that engage with the widest possible audience, from young people of all ages, teachers, academics, and professionals at each career stage of the future and current space workforce.”

Ohja’s call for targeted interventions to inspire the future space workforce — which the Space for Everyone tour is helping to support — is a necessary step if the sector wants to continue its upward trajectory.

In terms of the sector’s success in generating income, the UK space industry’s income doubled during the last decade from £8.3 billion in 2009 to £17.5 billion in 2021. In Scotland, the ADS Group — the UK trade association for aerospace, security, defence, and space — found that the Scots aerospace and space sectors alone generated over £4b in turnover in 2022, and also employed around 13,000 people.