{"id":13733,"date":"2023-09-14T10:43:53","date_gmt":"2023-09-14T10:43:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/startups\/why-u-k-spaceports-are-attracting-vc-capital\/"},"modified":"2023-09-14T10:43:54","modified_gmt":"2023-09-14T10:43:54","slug":"why-u-k-spaceports-are-attracting-vc-capital","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=13733","title":{"rendered":"Why U.K. Spaceports Are Attracting VC Capital"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

As the world\u2019s space agencies continue to send headline-grabbing probes and landers to far-flung corners of the solar system, it\u2019s easy to forget that a big part of the space industry revolves around sending satellites – often relatively small – into Earth orbit. Some are put there by governments, others by research organizations and a great many are commercially operated. Regardless of their purpose, they all need launchers.<\/p>\n

Until relatively recently, launch options were limited to a few big suppliers, such as Europe\u2019s Arianespace or SpaceX. But the market is changing, not least here in the UK where the government has actively been encouraging the development of small \u201cspaceports\u201d and launch businesses.<\/p>\n

Orbex is one such business. Established in 2015, it designs and manufactures a launcher – Orbex Prime – and in a relatively recent development, it also operates the Sutherland Spaceport in the far north of Scotland. To get its project off the ground, the company has raised a total of \u00a3100 million, with the latest tranche coming in the form of a \u00a340.4 million Series C round in the Autumn of 2022. According to CEO Martin Coates, the first launch is not very far away, so when I caught up with him earlier this week, I was keen to find out more about the realities of taking a VC-backed space company on the road that leads from drawing board to commercial operations.<\/p>\n

A Well Established Space Industry<\/h2>\n

The space industry contributed around \u00a37 billion in added value to the U.K. economy in 2022 and currently employs 48,000 people. But while Britain has a well-established satellite manufacturing sector, it hasn\u2019t had any operational launch facilities.<\/p>\n

<\/fbs-ad><\/p>\n

That looks set to change. The Department of Transport lists seven spaceports around the country. Three of them are designed to facilitate ground-launched rockets and the remainder are created to host launch-from-the-air systems. For its part, the British government has introduced a new regulatory framework designed to support innovation in the launch sector.<\/p>\n

All well and good, but space is a tricky entrepreneurial play. In January this year, the first launch from British soil – conducted by Virgin Orbit from Spaceport Cornwall – ended in failure. As a result, the company continued for just a few months before ceasing operations.<\/p>\n

Prospects For A New Industry<\/strong><\/h2>\n

So what are the prospects for this nascent – at least in UK terms – industry?<\/p>\n

As Martin Coates sees it, there is a real requirement for new launch capabilities. Putting satellites into orbit in the \u201ctraditional\u201d way – as part of a big payload – isn\u2019t always ideal. \u201cYour satellite goes with the main payload. It will be launched where that payload is going,\u201d he says. \u201cWe can send your satellite directly to where you want it to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition, a satellite owner who has booked onto a large rocket may find their launch is rescheduled if the rest of the payload is changed. Smaller launchers can offer a more bespoke, if admittedly more expensive, service.<\/p>\n

Another driver of the market is the state of the world in 2023. As the war in Ukraine and continuing tensions between the West and China illustrate, access to components – and indeed, the ability to secure launch facilities – can no longer be taken for granted. Coates believes the Orbex system is relatively immune from any geopolitical problems that might emerge in the near or medium term.<\/p>\n

\u201cAn important part of all this is having as short a supply chain as possible. We think there\u2019s only one component – and it’s a fairly generic component – that we won\u2019t be able to source within Europe or the UK by the time we are launching. Very much a short supply chain so we are not at risk from geopolitical tensions occurring that would delay a launch,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

The Investor Perspective <\/strong><\/h2>\n

That\u2019s the business case, but is it one that attracts or excites investors? The fact that Orbex has raised \u00a3100 million to date, suggests there is an appetite on the part of VCs, but there are some caveats. As Coates acknowledges, the company probably wouldn\u2019t have been able to fulfill its mission without grant funding, particularly from the U.K. and European Space Agencies.<\/p>\n

The first VC Funding arrived in 2018. \u201cWe\u2019ve tended to raise rounds when we pass technical milestones,\u201d says Coates. \u201cWhat we\u2019ve had to do for a vehicle of this particular size is make it lighter, more efficient. We don\u2019t have the luxury of being able to carry a lot of excess fuels knocking around.\u201d<\/p>\n

The company also has a number of patents, including for a 3D-printed turbo pump and coaxial tanks and the materials for them. \u201cThere were problems that had to be solved before we could get into orbit. We had to clear these problems to be attractive to a broader range of funds,\u201d adds Coates.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, securing the latest tranche of funding did not prove totally straightforward or easy. Even with VCs on the board, closing took longer than expected. \u201cThere has been a lot of interest, but closing the round was challenging,\u201d says Coates. It\u2019s hard to perceive how much of that was due to the perceived risk and how much was down to a slowdown in the wider market.\u201d<\/p>\n

But as he sees it, space is attractive. \u201cIt is an interesting, high-profile sector,\u201d he says. More specifically, he says Orbex could offer a skilled experienced team that had already solved a series of technical challenges.<\/p>\n

Ultimately the Series C was led by the Scottish National Development Bank along with BGF, Heartcore Capital, High-tech Gruenderfonds, Octopus Ventures and others.<\/p>\n

So what does the emergence of a launcher\/spaceport industry mean for a U.K. space industry that has until now, been largely focused on building satellites? \u201cThere are lots of dimensions,\u201d Coates says. \u201cThe more people who understand the challenges and the technical skills of working in the sector, you get the density effect of more and more skills – the cluster effect. If we can build satellites, build launchers and operate spaceports, we are a good go-to destination.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition, there is the impact on the local areas. Well paid jobs are created around non-technical requirements such as security, accommodation and catering services. In addition, there are opportunities for local people to learn high-end technical skills. \u201cWe take 12 interns a year,\u201d says Coates. \u201cAnd even the ancillary jobs like quality assurance. They have to learn what quality means for a spaceport or a launch vehicle. So you take generic skills and build on them.\u201d<\/p>\n

The rockets have yet to start launching from Britain\u2019s handful of designated spaceports, but if the experience of Orbex is anything to go by this is an investible industry providing opportunities for startups and scaleups that can master the technical challenges of providing reliable launch facilities.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Read the full article here<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As the world\u2019s space agencies continue to send headline-grabbing probes and landers to far-flung corners of the solar system, it\u2019s easy to forget that a big part of the space industry revolves around sending satellites – often relatively small – into Earth orbit. Some are put there by governments, others by research organizations and a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13734,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[77],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-13733","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-startups"},"yoast_head":"\nWhy U.K. Spaceports Are Attracting VC Capital | Brandiary<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"As the world\u2019s space agencies continue to send headline-grabbing probes and landers to far-flung corners of the solar system, it\u2019s easy to forget that a\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=13733\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Why U.K. Spaceports Are Attracting VC Capital | Brandiary\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As the world\u2019s space agencies continue to send headline-grabbing probes and landers to far-flung corners of the solar system, it\u2019s easy to forget that a\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=13733\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Brandiary\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-09-14T10:43:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-09-14T10:43:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/1694688233_0x0.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"News Room\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"News Room\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=13733#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=13733\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"News Room\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/#\/schema\/person\/5062dafb0f932b59aa228f1a047332f4\"},\"headline\":\"Why U.K. Spaceports Are Attracting VC Capital\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-09-14T10:43:53+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-09-14T10:43:54+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=13733\"},\"wordCount\":1157,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Startups\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=13733#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=13733\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=13733\",\"name\":\"Why U.K. Spaceports Are Attracting VC Capital | Brandiary\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2023-09-14T10:43:53+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-09-14T10:43:54+00:00\",\"description\":\"As the world\u2019s space agencies continue to send headline-grabbing probes and landers to far-flung corners of the solar system, it\u2019s easy to forget that a\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=13733#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=13733\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=13733#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Why U.K. Spaceports Are Attracting VC Capital\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/\",\"name\":\"Brandiary\",\"description\":\"Latest Business and Startup News and Updates\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Brandiary\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/b-logo-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/b-logo-1.png\",\"width\":381,\"height\":100,\"caption\":\"Brandiary\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/#\/schema\/person\/5062dafb0f932b59aa228f1a047332f4\",\"name\":\"News Room\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/avatar_user_1_1688031660-96x96.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/avatar_user_1_1688031660-96x96.png\",\"caption\":\"News Room\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Why U.K. Spaceports Are Attracting VC Capital | Brandiary","description":"As the world\u2019s space agencies continue to send headline-grabbing probes and landers to far-flung corners of the solar system, it\u2019s easy to forget that a","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=13733","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Why U.K. Spaceports Are Attracting VC Capital | Brandiary","og_description":"As the world\u2019s space agencies continue to send headline-grabbing probes and landers to far-flung corners of the solar system, it\u2019s easy to forget that a","og_url":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=13733","og_site_name":"Brandiary","article_published_time":"2023-09-14T10:43:53+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-09-14T10:43:54+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":800,"url":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/1694688233_0x0.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"News Room","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"News Room","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=13733#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=13733"},"author":{"name":"News Room","@id":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/#\/schema\/person\/5062dafb0f932b59aa228f1a047332f4"},"headline":"Why U.K. Spaceports Are Attracting VC Capital","datePublished":"2023-09-14T10:43:53+00:00","dateModified":"2023-09-14T10:43:54+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=13733"},"wordCount":1157,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/#organization"},"articleSection":["Startups"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=13733#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=13733","url":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=13733","name":"Why U.K. Spaceports Are Attracting VC Capital | Brandiary","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2023-09-14T10:43:53+00:00","dateModified":"2023-09-14T10:43:54+00:00","description":"As the world\u2019s space agencies continue to send headline-grabbing probes and landers to far-flung corners of the solar system, it\u2019s easy to forget that a","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=13733#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=13733"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=13733#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Why U.K. Spaceports Are Attracting VC Capital"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/","name":"Brandiary","description":"Latest Business and Startup News and Updates","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/#organization","name":"Brandiary","url":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/b-logo-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/b-logo-1.png","width":381,"height":100,"caption":"Brandiary"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/#\/schema\/person\/5062dafb0f932b59aa228f1a047332f4","name":"News Room","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/avatar_user_1_1688031660-96x96.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/avatar_user_1_1688031660-96x96.png","caption":"News Room"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com"],"url":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13733","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13733"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13733\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13735,"href":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13733\/revisions\/13735"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/13734"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13733"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13733"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13733"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}