I’m delighted to report that filled with sunshine, immense networking opportunities and meetings with the top US organisations in the space sector, Space Mission UK was an enormous success.
Space Mission UK traveled to Utah, Silicon Valley and Los Angeles from 8-14 August 2015 and provided nine of the UK’s leading space and satellite application entrepreneurs with the opportunity to interact with world leading investors and potential collaborators. Innovate UK with the support of UK Trade & Investment organised the mission.
The global space industry is in the midst of a fundamental shift, making room for private sector innovation. For the first time, non-traditional space companies such as venture capital firms and disruptive start-ups are entering the sector. The UK government recognises the potential of the space sector and how it can further boost the UK economy. Already, the UK space sector is thriving with an annual growth rate of 8.3 percent since 2008, with a growing workforce of 37,000 people. With great growth potential and a sector ripe with opportunity, nanosatellites, CubeSats and their applications were chosen as the focus for the entrepreneur mission.
Utah
Our first stop on the mission took the nine startups to the 29th annual Small Satellite Conference hosted by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics in Logan, Utah. As one of the top small satellite-focused conferences in the world with more than 1,800 participants, the companies networked with leading organisations in the small satellite industry.
Of course, it wouldn’t be a space mission without meeting with US space agency, NASA. The members of the mission met with Tony Freeman, manager of the Innovation Foundry at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). He spoke to JPL’s leading global role in robotic exploration of the solar system and its innovative 10 instruments and 19 spacecrafts carrying out planetary, Earth science and astronomy missions. Freeman also discussed JPL’s collaboration with countries around the world and highlighted they have few partnerships with the UK, one with British-owned company Surrey Satellite Technology, who was selected by JPL for the flight of the Deep Space Atomic Clock payload sponsored by NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate. The session provided an opportunity for each of the companies to pitch JPL for further collaboration as well as receive feedback and potential contacts to follow up with.
The day wasn’t finished yet though: the work continued at an evening outdoor conference reception, which offered the companies the opportunity to network with a wide range of conference participants. Many of the nine space companies involved were able to establish connections with investors and potential customers – connections which have continued to flourish now that we are back in the UK.
Silicon Valley
The next stop on our mission was Silicon Valley, California, known as a leading hub for innovation, startups and investments.
There we met with Lockheed Martin, a global security and aerospace company, at their Advanced Technology Center. Executives from the company discussed their outlook on satellites, the bright future of the space industry, how the UK is a hub for innovation and praised the UK government’s investment in academia and small businesses. Lockheed Martin also spoke to the importance of startups in the industry to fuel innovation and new technologies and how Innovate UK is at the forefront of helping move the UK space industry forward. The meeting offered valuable insights from one of the world’s largest companies on how to grow and develop within the space sector.
The mission then travelled to San Francisco to meet with O’Reilly Tech Ventures, a leading US venture capital firm that funds disruptors, innovators and hackers of the status quo with a growing focus on groundbreaking satellite applications. There, the UK entrepreneurs were exposed to US investors who are looking for satellite technology that is disruptive and unique to break through the saturated satellite market in Silicon Valley. They also heard that patience and persistence is key as it can take up to three to four pitch rounds and sometimes even rejection before anything receives investment. The key is not to give up.
Los Angeles
The final stop of Space Mission UK took the companies to sunny Los Angeles, where we met with the University of Southern California’s Space Engineering Research Center, one the US’s leading academic institutions. After a tour of the laboratories and meetings with space scientists, each entrepreneur gave their business pitch to Space Angels Network, an angel investing network that encourages private investment in commercial space, aerospace and aviation startups. Investor comments such as, “Are you still accepting investment?” “How can I be a part of this?” and “I have been waiting for an entrepreneur with this type of technology” were music to the entrepreneurs’ ears. There is a huge amount of potential in the UK space industry and as a part of Innovate UK, I’m enormously proud of the companies we’ve helped foster.
After the pitches, UK Trade & Investment hosted an informal reception that allowed UK companies to network with investors one-on-one as well as talk to the other companies on the mission about opportunities for collaboration. Although it had been a long day, all of the companies threw themselves at the opportunity to network with industry leaders.
The mission concluded with a trip to Virgin Galactic, the world’s first commercial space line for Earth. CEO George Whitesides and his team spoke with companies about the big challenges facing the satellite industry, such as cost and launch frequency as well as Virgin Galactic’s LauncherOne, an orbital launch vehicle dedicated to the satellite market, which can help keep satellite launch prices low while providing customers with better launch availability and flexibility. Companies then were able to pitch their ideas to Virgin Galactic leadership one-on-one.
Overall, the nine entrepreneurs came away from the mission with new knowledge of the industry, new business leads, potential collaboration opportunities with leading investors and organisations and new friendships with fellow entrepreneurs in the space and satellite application industry. Mission accomplished.
Notes:
The nine companies each applied and went through a competitive application process for Innovate UK’s funding to attend the Mission. It featured some of the most exciting British companies in the space industry, from small start-ups to established market leaders. The nine companies are:
- Arralis Technologies, a firm that supplies world leading, ultra-fast, radar technology (Belfast)
- i, a startup that is socialising earth observation and satellite data (London)
- Bright Ascension, a provider of software solutions for satellites, that save time and money (Dundee)
- Gyana, a startup that uses advanced mathematics and machine learning to harness big data for use in everyday life (Oxford)
- Mars Space Ltd, a company that provides services and consultancy on space propulsion, plasma engineering and science (Southampton)
- Oxford Space Systems, a company which is set on becoming the leading supplier of deployable space structures globally (Harwell Oxford)
- Printech Circuit Laboratories, a company that for over 20 years has manufactured a range of circuitry for the space industry (Essex)
- PocketQube Shop, a one-stop-shop for custom satellites that cost less than a family car (Glasgow)
- Scot Sat, a provider of ultra-high speed mobile satellite communications at a fraction of the cost (Edinburgh)
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