A spaceport programme at Glasgow Prestwick Airport in Ayrshire, planned to launch small satellites and anchor a space business cluster in south-west Scotland.
Prestwick Spaceport is a planned launch site at Glasgow Prestwick Airport in South Ayrshire, Scotland. The idea is for small satellites to be launched from the airport, using the long runway and the existing aviation business. The airport had signed a memorandum of understanding with Astraius, a UK-based company developing horizontal air-launch technology, to deploy its launch system there. In a horizontal launch, an aircraft carries a rocket to high altitude before releasing it. We did not find evidence that a launch has taken place from Prestwick, so this is best seen as a project and not a working launch site.
The spaceport is led by Programme Director Mick O'Connor, and Zoe Kilpatrick, Commercial Director at Glasgow Prestwick Airport, has described its aim as becoming a leading European launch site. The aim, as described in reports, is to make Prestwick a leading European launch location and help build UK launch capability. It also fits a Scottish ambition to become Europe's leading space nation. The Ayrshire Space Cluster project aims to add space supply-chain businesses to Ayrshire's existing aerospace sector, with the spaceport at its centre, and to inspire people to pursue careers in space.
In the UK, everything is in Ayrshire. The airport at Prestwick has a long aerospace history, and the Prestwick Aerospace site sits alongside it. South Ayrshire Council is a key partner, and the Ayrshire Growth Deal, a joint package from the Scottish and UK Governments and the three Ayrshire councils, backs the plan. A 2022 event, Beyond Launch, was held at the HALO Enterprise and Innovation Hub in Kilmarnock, with Barclays Eagle Labs and Space Scotland as partners. A speaker line-up included Professor David Alexander OBE.
On culture, the best statement is from Space Scotland's cluster manager, Dr Natasha Nicholson, who stressed that the space industry is open to everyone. The project is aimed at connecting businesses and suppliers across Scotland to industry opportunities, which means it works mainly through partnerships. We found no staff numbers or details of working life, and the main sources are from 2021 and 2022, so check what has changed since.
A spaceport programme needs many skills: airport and airside operations, planning and regulation, engineering, project management, business development and community engagement. Beyond the spaceport itself, the cluster idea is aimed at supply-chain firms in manufacturing, electronics and software, so it can matter for jobs that never touch a rocket. Engineering, aviation, business and geography are all useful ways in.
Website: www.glasgowprestwick.com
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