Scotland’s Holistic Approach to Space Sustainability

Daniel Smith is the Director of Space Scotland and Founder of AstroAgency.

With the voluntary, not-for-profit, industry-led group Space Scotland in place to enable, champion and represent the sector’s interests, fully supported by government and its agencies who clearly recognise the sector’s potential to stimulate economic growth, Scotland unveiled its inaugural Space Strategy at Expo Dubai last year. That document, one of many regional development plans encouraged by the UK Space Agency, pinpointed a clear opportunity to become the place for sustainable space, partly due to Scotland’s aims to reach net zero by 2045, and partly due to the industry’s movement towards this as a future-proofing mechanism and distinguishing factor.

In September this year, Space Scotland followed up its Strategy with a Space Sustainability Roadmap consisting of 11 work packages and a series of short, medium and long-term goals leading up to that key 2045 date.

The Roadmap was created by space sector strategy firm AstroAgency and Glasgow-based consultancy, Optimat, but the key to the work was always going to be the input from local and international experts in space sustainability. It includes contributions from non-space industries that had gone down a similar journey too, and received the all-important “buy in” from Scotland’s space companies. This industry “blessing” was particularly important to the authors and Scottish Government agency Scottish Enterprise, who funded the work, due to the inclusion of bold recommendations around future government funding being dependent on a company’s ability to demonstrate sustainable practices. As with the majority of the 80+ countries around the world developing space programmes, public funding is a key catalyst and enabler for industry growth, making the link between sustainability and future funding arguably the most controversial inclusion in the plan.

A legal graduate and entrepreneur, Daniel has helped set up four space companies since 2017, he supports AstroAgency’s clients with strategic communications and business development. A member of the Space Safety & Sustainability UK government advisory group, CPG for Aviation & Space at the Scottish Parliament, the ESA BIC UK Steering Group and a long-term participant of the LaunchUK Industry Group, he also acts as an Advisory Board member for UKSEDS, a mentor for New Voices in Space and Co-Chair of Space Scotland’s Environmental Task Force.

Daniel has been nominated for two Sir Arthur Clarke awards for his services to the UK space sector, notably in the areas of sustainability and educational outreach through AstroAgency’s SpaceBar initiative, as well as being a Great British Entrepreneur of the Year Award finalist. A passionate advocate for a sustainable approach to launch and in-orbit activity, Daniel has spoken on the environmental impact of space and the role of geospatial data in the drive to net zero with CNN, BBC and on stage at the Dubai Expo, Korea Space Forum, UKSA Ignite Space and UN COP26 events. He writes a column in the Scotsman newspaper on the importance of ensuring the ‘new space’ sector develops in a sustainable manner.

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