World's first Roadmap for Space Sustainability launched on International Stage

Believed to be the first sustainability strategy of its kind, Sustainable Space - A Roadmap for Scotland was originally kick-started by funding from Scottish Enterprise and unveiled in front of the domestic space sector during September at the Glasgow Science Centre. However, the importance of leveraging the work on the global stage as a means of securing new international partnerships was recognised by industry-led group, Space Scotland. The organisation’s Environmental Task Force, set up in 2019 as a voluntary grouping of over 20 UK-based space companies, universities and government agencies, had called for the space sustainability Roadmap’s creation at the start of this year and went on to provide guidance around the resulting eleven work packages that the document prescribes for the sector.

The international showcase event was also used as an opportunity to highlight Scotland’s end-to-end space industry. A delegation of 18 Scottish space firms attending the exhibition (Space Scotland, Scottish Development International (SDI), AstroAgency, Higgs Centre for Innovation, Fraunhofer UK Research, Space Hub Sutherland, SaxaVord UK Space Port, Skyrora, Astraius, HyImpulse – Konstantin Tomilin, Spire, Craft Prospect, Bright Ascension, Celestia Technologies Group, Alpha Data, Walker Group, STAR-Dundee, Axon‘ Cable Ltd.), took the stage at the UK Pavilion immediately following the Roadmap’s showcase to provide a series of presentations on their capabilities in front of an engaged audience of around 100 international delegates. The space value chain was fully represented, with satellite and launch vehicle manufacturers, subsystem component providers, spaceports and space data analysts using information from satellites to support everyday life on Earth.