TO BE PUBLISHED June 2026
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Format: DOWNLOADABLE PDF
This conference will focus on the next phase of development for the UK space industry.
It will bring together key stakeholders and policymakers to discuss next steps for the sector, with space positioned as a priority frontier sector in the Advanced Manufacturing Sector Plan. Planned discussion will focus on how strategic ambitions across government and industry can be translated into practical delivery, investment, and routes to commercial scale.
Programme delivery
The agenda will assess implications of the UK Space Agency’s Corporate Plan 2025-26 and the planned integration of the UK Space Agency into the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, alongside the recent allocation of £500m to national space programmes intended to support the scaling up of British space firms. Delegates will consider priorities for structuring the new institutional arrangements, and for coordination of strategy, policy and advancing key programmes.
Attendees will also discuss how government, industry and research partners can work together to advance aims for funded missions, industrial capability, supply chain resilience, and sustainable commercial growth. Delivery practicalities will be a focus, including organisation of programmes and partnerships, and what may be needed to support implementation.
Innovation, investment & coordination with wider policy
Further discussion will examine the interaction of space policy with wider economic and national priorities - including advanced manufacturing, defence, clean energy and digital infrastructure - and how the sector might derive practical advantage from its positioning within these strategic areas. Delegates will consider implications for industrialisation and scale-up across satellite manufacturing, launch capability, in-orbit servicing and downstream applications.
The conference will also look at what policy frameworks, infrastructure investment and market development may be required to support firms moving from innovation to sustained commercial activity. Immediate practical requirements for growth will be considered, as well as longer-term priorities for developing commercial capability across the sector.
UK competitiveness, international partnerships & national priorities
The UK’s position in an increasingly competitive global space environment will be discussed. Drawing on strategic analysis from the Geostrategy Council and recent industry feedback, delegates will assess factors shaping how the UK might balance openness and international collaboration with development of sovereign capability, resilient supply chains and longer-term national interests.
Further discussion will examine implications for policy, investment and international partnership, including priorities for strengthening the UK’s position as a space economy in a rapidly evolving global market. Attendees will consider areas of uncertainty for industry, government and research partners, including how international engagement and domestic capability may interact in supporting longer-term sector development.
Overview of areas for discussion
- policy:
- space within the Advanced Manufacturing Sector Plan - translating frontier sector status into practical outcomes for investment, capability and growth
- alignment of civil, defence and economic growth objectives - priorities and benchmarks for the sector towards 2030
- institutional reform:
- implications of the UK Space Agency Corporate Plan 2025-26 - priorities in the context of integration with DSIT
- commercialisation, resilience and priority markets - preparing institutional structures for integration within DSIT
- commercial scale-up:
- transition from research and development to commercial manufacturing - strengthening supply chain resilience and sovereign capability
- regulatory certainty and procurement frameworks - addressing barriers to scale-up and access to growth finance
- key capabilities:
- satellite communications, Earth observation, positioning, navigation and timing resilience and in-orbit servicing and manufacturing - supporting dual-use capability development
- launch capability and downstream applications - expanding commercial markets and export potential
- space as critical infrastructure:
- resilience, cybersecurity and space domain awareness - responding to congestion, debris and operational risk
- strengthening domestic capability and the future role of international partnerships - safeguarding national security alongside support for commercial opportunity
- global positioning:
- balancing openness and international collaboration with long-term national interests - responding to intensifying global competition
- drawing on analysis from the Geostrategy Council - priorities for sovereign capability, resilience and international partnerships
