The UK space industry is one of the UK's leading growth sectors...
The UK space industry is a UK success story, growing in real terms by over 10% a year since 1999/00 – four times faster than the economy as a whole. And it has potential to accelerate this growth over the next decade as new technologies and applications are developed that rely on space derived data and services, including location based services for mobile phones and improved satellite data for weather forecasting.
...and a substantial industry in its own right...
On a turnover of £5.2 billion, the UK space industry directly contributed around £2.4 billion to UK GDP in 2004/05. This results in an induced total of nearly £7 billion GDP.
Direct employment in the UK space industry was 17,560 in 2004/05.
The space industry is one of the UK’s most highly productive sectors, with GDP per worker around £135,000 in 2004/05 – nearly four times higher than the economy average.
In part, the space industry’s high productivity reflects the very high levels of capital investment undertaken by firms in the sector. The industry’s labour force is also highly skilled, with nearly 60% of workers being qualified to at least graduate level - compared to 30% for the economy as a whole.
The UK’s modest investment in the European advanced telecommunications technology programme (ARTES) has generated returns on investment of more than 7:1. Investment in ARTES led directly to the revolutionary digital processors that enable broadband via satellite through the Inmarsat BGAN service.
Returns on commercialisation of research of 100:1 have been demonstrated.
The investment in the UK led Disaster Monitoring Constellation has generated returns of 9:1 to date.
...and supporting almost 70,000 jobs in the UK both directly and through its spending.
As well as being a substantial generator of activity in its own right, the space industry also stimulates GDP and employment throughout the rest of the economy. For example, almost 38,000 UK jobs are supported by the purchase of goods and services through the space industry’s supply chain. And the spending of workers directly and indirectly employed by the space industry helps to support a further 14,000 UK jobs.
In total, the space industry helps to support almost 70,000 jobs and generates about £5.2 billion in GDP through direct and economic multiplier impacts.
The space industry also helps to improve the performance of the wider economy...
And the contribution of the space industry to the UK economy goes much wider. In particular, there are catalytic or spillover impacts that facilitate improved supply-side performance of the UK economy, creating capabilities and enhancing productivity across the wider economy.
...supported by its substantial investment
in R&D.
Overall research and development (R&D) expenditure in the space industry in the UK was £300 million in 2004/05. This level of investment is equivalent in monetary terms to 12% of the industry’s value added (ie its GDP contribution). This means that the UK space industry is about six times more R&D intensive than the economy as a whole, ranking alongside the most R&D intensive sectors in the UK today.
The technological advances that come about as a result of R&D investment in the space industry can be transferred to firms in other sectors in the form of ‘spillover’. Research by Oxford Economic Forecasting (OEF) suggests that such spillover effects are very large, with R&D investment by the aerospace sector generating a social return of around 70% - ie every £100 million invested in R&D as well as the direct benefit leads to an additional spillover increase in GDP of £70 million in the long run.
OEF estimates that the space industry helps to generate an additional £1.6 billion a year of GDP through the spillover effects of its R&D, on top of its £5.2 billion of direct and multiplier impacts. So, the space industry overall currently contributes at least £7 billion a year to UK GDP.
On top of this, the application of space derived services and data further contributes to the UK economy by facilitating a wide range of services to business and consumers, and by enabling the UK’s economic infrastructure to function more efficiently.
UK world leaders in space:
•
EADS Astrium - satellite manufacturer
•
Inmarsat - mobile communications
•
Paradigm - military satellite
communications
•
Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd
- small satellites
•
Avanti - Screenmedia and satellite
networks
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