Space Scotland

Space Scotland is a not-for-profit, industry-led organisation that serves as the collective voice of the Scottish space industry. According to its official website, its mission is to enable a strong, connected and globally competitive Scottish space sector by coordinating capability, translating national and international strategy into action, and creating the conditions for sustainable economic growth, innovation and resilience across Scotland's space ecosystem. It describes itself as uniting industry, academia and government to champion collaboration across what it calls the nation's unique end-to-end space ecosystem. The organisation's stated vision is for Scotland to be recognised internationally as a leading space nation — a place where space technologies and services are developed, deployed and scaled across the full end-to-end value chain, delivering economic value, societal benefit and strategic advantage for Scotland and the UK. Its work is organised around several focus areas: industry collaboration, sustainability and innovation, skills and workforce development, policy and advocacy, and international engagement. It also runs member working groups and produces strategic documents for the sector. Space Scotland publishes and commissions strategic resources for the Scottish space sector. These include the Scottish Space Cluster: Mid-term Economic Review, produced by London Economics, which assesses industry performance across income, employment, exports and economic value and sets out updated growth scenarios to 2030; the Strategy for Space in Scotland, which defines the sector's visions, ambitions and opportunities for the next decade and beyond; and the Space Sustainability Roadmap, created alongside AstroAgency Ltd and Optimat Ltd, together with a 2025 status report reviewing progress on that roadmap. The organisation is led by an Executive Delivery Team and a Board of Directors. The team includes CEO Dr Natasha Nicholson, Upstream Lead Becky Ball, Head of Programmes Derek Harris, Executive Assistant Marie Hunter and Downstream Lead Daniel Raimbach. The Board of Directors includes Chair Peter Young and Directors Dr Julian Dines, Jenni Doonan, Kevin Gaffney, Peter Mendham and Professor Andrew Mount. Daniel Smith is listed as Trade & Investment Envoy for Space. Wikidata describes Space Scotland as a not-for-profit co-ordinating company led by Hina Khan, which may reflect an earlier leadership period. Space Scotland also works with partner organisations that support its members. For example, the independent UK law firm Burges Salmon, with offices in Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Bristol and London, contributes to working groups, supports industry events and shares insight and resources with Space Scotland members, including access to its BScale legal documentation platform for start-ups. Through these activities, Space Scotland positions itself as a coordinating and advocacy body rather than a manufacturer or launch operator, helping to connect the many companies, researchers and public bodies that make up Scotland's space economy.

Space Scotland is a not-for-profit, industry-led organisation that has emerged as the collective voice of the Scottish space industry. Its official website states that it exists to enable a strong, connected and globally competitive Scottish space sector, supporting the space community by coordinating capability, translating national and international strategy into action, and creating the conditions for sustainable economic growth, innovation and resilience across Scotland's space ecosystem. The organisation describes its vision as one in which Scotland is recognised internationally as a leading space nation, with space technologies and services developed, deployed and scaled across the full end-to-end value chain. A key part of Space Scotland's work has been the production and commissioning of strategic documents for the sector. The Scottish Space Cluster: Mid-term Economic Review, produced by London Economics for Space Scotland, provides an evidence-based assessment of Scotland's space sector since the publication of the 2020 Scottish Space Cluster: Progress Now and in the Future study. It examines industry performance across income, employment, exports and economic value, identifies emerging opportunities and challenges, and sets out updated growth scenarios to 2030. Space Scotland also publishes the Strategy for Space in Scotland, which defines the visions, ambitions and opportunities of the sector and outlines a plan to combine these elements for success over the next decade and beyond. Sustainability has been a central theme. The Scottish Space Strategy highlighted sustainability as a key part of the nation's approach to space, and to support this mission Space Scotland, alongside AstroAgency Ltd and Optimat Ltd, created the Space Sustainability Roadmap to address the need for sustainable practices in the sector. A 2025 status report provides a comprehensive review of progress on the roadmap, detailing actions completed, ongoing initiatives and lessons learned since the original publication. Space Scotland is led by an Executive Delivery Team and a Board of Directors. The team includes CEO Dr Natasha Nicholson, Upstream Lead Becky Ball, Head of Programmes Derek Harris, Executive Assistant Marie Hunter and Downstream Lead Daniel Raimbach. The Board of Directors includes Chair Peter Young and Directors Dr Julian Dines, Jenni Doonan, Kevin Gaffney, Peter Mendham and Professor Andrew Mount. Daniel Smith serves as Trade & Investment Envoy for Space. Wikidata describes Space Scotland as a not-for-profit co-ordinating company led by Hina Khan, which may reflect an earlier leadership period. The organisation also collaborates with partner organisations that support its members. Burges Salmon, a market-leading independent UK law firm with offices in Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Bristol and London, has extensive experience in the space and satellites sector, including advising on the UK Ministry of Defence SKYNET programme for almost 30 years. Burges Salmon supports Space Scotland members by contributing to working groups, supporting industry events and sharing insight and resources, including employment and immigration updates. Members also benefit from access to the firm's BScale platform, a suite of automated legal documentation designed for start-ups, available at no cost, and its emerging companies practice which helps early-stage businesses scale with confidence. Through these activities, Space Scotland acts as a coordinating and advocacy body for Scotland's space ecosystem.

• Publication of the 2020 Scottish Space Cluster: Progress Now and in the Future study, later used as the baseline for the Mid-term Economic Review.

• Space Scotland publishes the Strategy for Space in Scotland, defining the sector's visions, ambitions and opportunities for the next decade and beyond.

• Space Scotland, alongside AstroAgency Ltd and Optimat Ltd, creates the Space Sustainability Roadmap.

• London Economics produces the Scottish Space Cluster: Mid-term Economic Review for Space Scotland, setting out updated growth scenarios to 2030.

• Publication of the Space Sustainability Roadmap: 2025 Status Report reviewing progress on the roadmap.

Not-for-profit, industry-led coordinating body and collective voice of the Scottish space sector, uniting industry, academia and government.

• Scottish Space Cluster: Mid-term Economic Review

  An evidence-based assessment of Scotland's space sector since the 2020 Scottish Space Cluster study, produced by London Economics for Space Scotland, covering income, employment, exports and economic value with growth scenarios to 2030.

• Strategy for Space in Scotland

  A strategy document defining the visions, ambitions and opportunities of the Scottish space sector and outlining a plan for success over the next decade and beyond.

• Space Sustainability Roadmap

  A roadmap created by Space Scotland with AstroAgency Ltd and Optimat Ltd to address the need for sustainable practices in the Scottish space sector.

• Space Sustainability Roadmap: 2025 Status Report

  A status report reviewing progress on Scotland's Space Sustainability Roadmap, detailing actions completed, ongoing initiatives and lessons learned.

1. 1Space Scotlandspacescotland.org
2. 2The Team – Space Scotlandspacescotland.org
3. 3Strategic Documents – Space Scotlandspacescotland.org
4. 4Burges Salmon – Space Scotlandspacescotland.org
5. 5Space Scotlandwikidata.org