Leicester launches Space City in bid for final frontier
City and its university are betting big on space science to attract inward investment and growth
THERE'S a lot of space in Leicester – sorry for the pun – and there's always room for more.
But we're not talking about vast swathes of emptiness; well, not quite. We're talking about, space the final frontier – and the technological innovation required to reach for the stars.
City leaders, university chiefs, and business interests are working to turn the city into a hub for space industry research – and with it, mine the investment opportunities to come.
You might say that Leicester is betting big for space. All it needs is a suitable launch pad.
That's where Space City Leicester supposedly comes in.
Think of it as a business park, but one dedicated to space-related activities and enterprises. The £233 million invested in new and planned facilities will – it is said – create one of the sector's largest and most connected enterprise zones in the UK.
Launched earlier this year, Space City is situated in the former Pioneer Park development to the north of the city centre. It includes both existing facilities and new projects lined up to add 'booster rockets' to the proposal.
Existing facilities include Leicester University's science and innovation hub, Space Park (launched a year ago), as well as the National Space Centre visitor attraction. Then there's working space and 'incubators' for high tech businesses called Dock and Dock 2.
Planned for the near future, Dock 3 will provide additional workspace, along with the creation of newer industrial and business incubator facilities.
This whole enterprise cluster is dedicated to space research, production, manufacture and development. It's as much a seed bed for business opportunity, as it is cutting edge research; intended to nurture the creative output of both worlds.
According to the team behind the venture, Space City Leicester will also give home to non-space related ventures in the so-called knowledge economy.
“This is the launchpad for an exciting new chapter in our city’s space history,” said Leicester University's president and vice chancellor, professor Nishan Canagarajah.
“From its beginnings 60 years ago at the university, we have grown space activity to unlock its huge potential to advance learning, to stimulate inward investment, innovation and growth and to address the challenging problems of our time.
“Space City Leicester is exciting, it is bold and it is built upon a heritage of success.”
City mayor, Sir Peter Soulsby said the Space City venture places Leicester “firmly on the map” for research production and manufacture in the space industry.
“[T]he good news doesn’t end there as further expansion is planned to meet the demand from businesses keen to locate here from the UK and overseas,” he added.
The UK's space industry may be small in the wider scheme of things, but it packs a punch for its size. The sector grew by almost £1 billion into 2021, despite the global disruptions experienced through the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to the UK Space Agency, the sector generated £17.5 billion that year, compared to £16.5 billion into 2020. In the same period, the number of space organisations identified across the UK rose from 1,293 to 1,590, creating 1,772 jobs.
All told, the UK space industry employs just under 48,800 people and supports an estimated 126,800 jobs across its wider supply chain.
The West Midlands, East of England, and Wales saw the highest proportion of growth in space sector income.
“The £1 billion increase in sector income and £635 million investment generated by UK companies shows the confidence of investors and businesses in the [country's] space sector,” said Dr Paul Bate, the UK Space Agency's chief executive.
“World-class satellite manufacturing, science and technology expertise have ensured the UK plays a key role in major international missions, and we are increasing our national capabilities in fast-growing areas …
“To ensure we continue this journey, it’s crucial that we nurture skills and expertise, both established and emerging, all over the UK.”
John Hanley, chair of trade body Ukspace said the UK Space Agency's industry figures demonstrate the sector's “resilience and ingenuity”.
“These positive figures underline the opportunities that space offers to drive inspiration, aspiration and productive jobs across the UK. In order to capitalise on this, we must further strengthen our partnerships to maintain growth across the whole of the sector,” he added.
Space City Leicester is clearly looking to make the most of this opportunity, but it is no johnny-come-lately looking to jump on the bandwagon. Instead, it's building on the history and reputation it has already secured in the field of space science.
The university claims a long and distinguished record of discovery in the field. Around 300 academics and researchers are involved in work on space and Earth observation. Furthermore, every single year since 1967 has seen a Leicester-built instrument in operation beyond Earth's atmosphere.
Today, the university boasts, its work includes x-ray and observational astronomy; radio and space plasma physics, including space weather; and planetary science and instrumentation development.
Space City Leicester is intended to build on this heritage. The aspiration is suitably orbital, with an expectation it will become a world-leading space and Earth observation cluster, embedded in a collaborative milieu of academia and industry, which will drive growth in the space sector.
Over the next decade, the cluster is forecast to contribute £750 million to the UK space sector and support more than 2,500 direct and indirect jobs across the East Midlands.
The university hasn't gone it alone, of course, but operates in partnership with the city council, the local enterprise partnership, the National Space Centre and other bodies.
“Space City Leicester combines world-leading expertise with major assets ... to boldly build on what we have here in Leicester and Leicestershire,” said Andy Reed OBE, co-chair of the Leicester & Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership.
“It will create a world-leading cluster of research and development that will bring growth, investment, and many hundreds of jobs to our region.”
Space lady makes a chancellor
A focus on space and its economic potential is one thing.
Inspiring the vision of a species venturing beyond its planetary veil is quite another, so the university has made an apt choice with its new 'ambassadorial' figurehead.
Ahead of the launch of Space City, the university appointed Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock MBE as its new chancellor; a familiar face among stargazers.
Aderin-Pocock is a space scientist, broadcaster, educator, and author; since 2014 she has presented the BBC's long-running astronomy programme, The Sky at Night.
During her five-year tenure (maybe we should say mission, given the space theme), she will serve as the university's ceremonial head; as its public face, she will also be an advocate for the institution both at home and abroad.
“When I was first approached, I must admit, I was taken aback. But it seemed to make a lot of sense to me,” Aderin-Pocock said. “I have spent a lot of time in Leicester filming with The Sky at Night. I made a film a few years ago that featured Leicester greatly.”
Space is her long-standing passion; since childhood it has seized her imagination and she has always dreamed of going into space, but she was pretty much almost written off as a child.
After telling one teacher that she wanted to become an astronaut, it was suggested she go into the caring profession as that was a more realistic aim.
Born in London to Nigerian parents, the 55-year-old scientist attended 13 different schools before she turned 18; partly because of undiagnosed dyslexia.
“[P]eople sometimes ask, ‘how naughty were you?’,” Aderin-Pocock said.
“But it is because my parents split up when I was around four, and I moved around a lot, but also I have dyslexia.
“That meant that when I was at school I was put in a class for those with additional needs.
“I was just thought of as the unintelligent one at the back, but with education and inspiration and lots of fantastic teachers, I was able to go on to get GCSEs, A-levels and then a degree and a PhD.”
She has certainly earned her science wings since those formative years.
Aderin-Pocock went on to gain a physics degree and PhD in mechanical engineering at Imperial College London, in 1994.
She has worked for the UK Ministry of Defence helping to develop aircraft missile warning systems and hand-held instruments to detect landmines.
Later, she worked at University College London from 1999 to 2005 to develop a high-resolution spectrograph for the Gemini Observatory, in Chile.
Elsewhere on her CV, Aderin-Pocock worked on the Aeolus satellite. The installation measures wind speeds in the Earth’s atmosphere to help with our understanding of climate change.
She also worked on instrumentation for the James Webb Space Telescope.
In 2018, Leicester University awarded her an Honorary Doctor of Science.
“Maggie embodies the university’s three values,” said president and vice-chancellor professor Nishan Canagarajah.
“She is inspiring, because she has overcome significant barriers to achieve great success. As an inclusive institution, it is important for us to walk the walk, and having Maggie as our figurehead sends out the clear signal that Leicester is for everybody – diversity is our strength.
“Finally, Maggie is a truly impactful citizen of change, having demystified science for thousands of school children. She challenges people to think differently, to get involved.”
It's been quite the journey, then, but she puts it in simpler terms: “For me it is quite interesting because I know the power of education.”
Who knows, maybe she'll get to venture into space yet.
MC