Real-Time Industrial Classifications

UK Space Economy

Discover the size and growth of the UK’s emerging Space Economy and uncover the companies boldly going where no man has gone before using real-time industrial data.

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What is the Space Economy?

The UK’s Space Economy is made up of a growing ecosystem of companies and organisations that work across manufacturing, operations, applications and other ancillary services. These companies participate in a number of space-related activities such as satellite services, spacecraft production, governance, research and more.

The UK’s Space Industry has grown significantly in recent years alongside the ambition to capture 10% of the global space market by 2030, and shows no sign of stopping.

Space Economy sector summary

Key information you should know about the Space Economy sector from our AI-driven platform of over 5 million companies:

Space Economy has turnover of £87.75bn, meaning it is our 17th largest RTIC, and our 48th fastest growing sector.
The Space Economy sector has not received additional investor attention in recent years and the amount of venture capital funding is not increasing as fast as our other emerging economy sectors.
On average the roles advertised in this sector are 2.57% higher than the UK’s average salary.

2,323

COMPANIES CONSIDERED

£87,753,181,739

TOTAL TURNOVER

320,921

TOTAL EMPLOYEES

£3,298,720,000

TOTAL INVESTMENT FUNDING

£488,496,258

TOTAL INNOVATE UK GRANT FUNDING

2.0%

AVERAGE COMPANY GROWTH PER YEAR

Space Economy verticals

Our Space Economy RTIC is made up of 22 individual industry verticals, including verticals such as Communications, Cyber Security and Encryption, Data Infrastructures. You can find out more about the verticals by buying a report, visualising the sector on our platform, or by downloading the data.

Sector Code Description Records
RTIC0066 Space Economy 2330 companies
Companies involved in the space industry including providing satellite services, launch services, governance, and fundamental research.
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- Space Economy: Communications
  Companies supplying technologies involved in providing inter-satellite or satellite to ground communications for data downlink.
  211 companies
- Space Economy: Cyber Security and Encryption
  Companies developing technologies involved in the security of satellite data including cybersecurity software and cryptography.
  101 companies
- Space Economy: Data Infrastructures
  Companies providing the technologies and infrastructure involved in the storage and processing of satellite data after downlink.
  195 companies
- Space Economy: Engineering
  Companies building the equipment and facilities, and supplying services which enable the engineering, manufacturing, and testing of space systems.
  220 companies
- Space Economy: Exploration
  Companies developing the technologies which enable human spaceflight activities for tourism, science, and exploration.
  42 companies
- Space Economy: Geospatial Analytics
  Companies that possess analytics capabilities for optical imagery, radar imagery, and geolocation data.
  129 companies
- Space Economy: Geospatial Platforms
  Companies delivering digital platforms which involve software to process, analyse, and access geospatial data.
  155 companies
- Space Economy: Ground Segment
  Organisations providing the technologies and infrastructure involved in the ground segment of data downlink including ground stations, services, and terminals.
  66 companies
- Space Economy: Hardware
  Companies producing space hardware, which includes satellites and space sub-systems for propulsion, thermal, mechanical, power, control, robotic, communications, and payloads.
  343 companies
- Space Economy: High Altitude Platforms
  Organisations supplying aerial platforms which operate in the atmosphere and stratosphere including balloons, airships, drones, and other UAVs.
  22 companies
- Space Economy: In-orbit manufacturing
  Organisations developing the technologies which enable in-orbit activities including research and manufacturing in microgravity.
  199 companies
- Space Economy: Launch Infrastructure
  Organisations dedicated to the development of infrastructure enabling the operation of launch vehicles including launch pads, spaceports, and mission control facilities.
  85 companies
- Space Economy: Launch Services
  Companies offering services enabling the design, testing, and operation of launching space missions.
  86 companies
- Space Economy: Launch Vehicles
  Companies developing and supplying launch vehicles and sub-systems which include rockets, sub-orbital flight, and spaceplanes.
  99 companies
- Space Economy: Location and Connectivity
  Companies supplying products which make use of satellite navigation and communications to provide location or connectivity services in downstream markets.
  305 companies
- Space Economy: Mapping
  373 companies
- Space Economy: Materials
  Companies providing specialised materials involved in the manufacturing of space systems to provide structural, thermal, and propulsion properties.
  273 companies
- Space Economy: Resources
  Organisations dedicated to the development of technologies which enable the discovery and exploitation of space resources including solar power and asteroid mining.
  11 companies
- Space Economy: Satellite Constellations
  Companies that own and/or manage satellites or satellite constellations.
  72 companies
- Space Economy: Software
  Companies providing and using software that facilitates the design, manufacturing, and operation of space systems including launch vehicles, satellites, and other spacecraft.
  155 companies
- Space Economy: Space Ecosystem
  Organisations involved in space governance, research, and business ecosystems.
  210 companies
- Space Economy: Space Infrastructure
  Organisations building the infrastructure enabling the operation and logistics of in-orbit systems including space stations and satellites.
  9 companies

Space Economy industry growth

We estimate that the UK Space Economy sector could be worth approximately £96.9bn by 2027, based on the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2%. Below you can see the five year turnover forecast for the RTIC from 2023 to 2027.

Get your free Space Economy report

Dig deeper into the UK’s Space Economy with our free 2022 RTIC report, which includes:

– Summary of RTIC data & industry performance
– Overview of key verticals
– Geographic analysis & breakdown
– Key insights & trends

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Real-Time Industrial Classifications (RTICs)

At The Data City we’re mapping the emerging economy through accurate and reliable real-time data. We’ve produced Real-Time Industrial Classifications (RTICs) for some of the UK’s fastest growing sectors, across over 350 industry verticals, including the Space Economy.

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