The United Kingdom's Space Activity in 2026 - Launches, Satellites, and the People Behind Them

2nd January 2026

By 2026, the United Kingdom is expected to reach a long-anticipated milestone in its space ambitions: the transition from a nation that designs and builds spacecraft to one that can also launch them from its own territory.

While the scale will remain modest compared with the United States or China, 2026 represents a critical turning point for UK spaceflight, combining domestic rocket launches, internationally launched UK-built satellites, and a rapidly expanding industrial and scientific workforce.

The most visible development in 2026 will be the start of orbital rocket launches from UK soil. After years of regulatory, technical, and financial delays, the SaxaVord Spaceport in the Shetland Islands is expected to host the UK's first vertical orbital launch attempts.

SaxaVord has been designed specifically for small-satellite missions, reflecting the UK's focus on launching lightweight spacecraft into polar and sun-synchronous orbits. These orbits are particularly valuable for Earth observation, climate monitoring, and communications, which align closely with UK strengths.

Orbex, a UK-based launch company headquartered in Scotland, is widely expected to attempt its first orbital launch of the Prime rocket in early 2026.

Prime is designed to carry small satellites into low Earth orbit and is marketed as a cleaner, lower-carbon launcher compared with many competitors. If successful, this flight would mark the first time a satellite has reached orbit from a UK launch site. Other launch providers, including Skyrora and the German firm Rocket Factory Augsburg operating under UK licences, are also planning flights from SaxaVord once infrastructure and scheduling allow. Although only a handful of launches are expected in 2026, the year is likely to establish operational credibility rather than high launch volume.

At the same time, the majority of UK satellites launched in 2026 will still fly aboard foreign rockets. The UK remains one of the world’s leading designers and manufacturers of small satellites, and its companies are deeply embedded in European and global space programmes.

Firms such as Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd and Open Cosmos are expected to deliver Earth-observation, communications, and technology-demonstration spacecraft for commercial and institutional customers. These satellites will typically launch from sites in the United States, Europe, or New Zealand, reflecting the global nature of the launch market.

UK involvement in European Space Agency missions will also continue to be significant in 2026. Earth-observation constellations, navigation-related technology demonstrators, and scientific CubeSats with UK engineering or scientific leadership are scheduled to reach orbit during the year.

The UK is also contributing to lunar-related infrastructure through small spacecraft that support communications and navigation around the Moon, underlining a strategic shift toward deeper-space participation alongside traditional low-Earth-orbit missions.

Universities play an increasingly important role in this ecosystem. Several UK university-led CubeSat projects are expected to reach launch readiness in 2026, either flying as secondary payloads on commercial rockets or through ESA-supported programmes.

These missions are not only scientific or technological experiments but also training platforms, producing the next generation of space engineers, mission operators, and researchers.

Behind these launches lies a large and diverse workforce. While the launch companies themselves employ only a few hundred people directly, the wider UK space sector involves tens of thousands.

Engineers design propulsion systems, satellite buses, and software; technicians build and test hardware; scientists define mission goals and analyse data; and specialists in regulation, insurance, and operations ensure that missions can legally and safely fly.

By 2026, hundreds of companies across the UK will be contributing to space activity, ranging from specialised start-ups to major aerospace primes.

In total, 2026 is best understood not as the year the UK suddenly becomes a major launch power, but as the year it completes a long-term transition. The country will still rely heavily on international partners for access to space, yet it will finally possess a domestic launch capability that complements its strengths in satellite design, data services, and space science.

The significance of 2026 lies less in the number of rockets launched and more in the establishment of a sustainable, end-to-end UK space ecosystem, linking education, industry, government, and international collaboration.

The economic impact of UK space activity in 2026 is likely to be felt more through long-term structural change than immediate revenue. Domestic launch capability, even at low launch rates, reduces dependence on foreign providers and improves the UK’s attractiveness as a place to design and manufacture satellites.

This creates a "pull-through" effect: companies that previously built spacecraft solely for export gain the option of integrating launch, testing, and early operations within the UK. Over time, this strengthens supply chains in propulsion, advanced materials, electronics, software, and ground systems, many of which have applications beyond the space sector in defence, energy, and advanced manufacturing.

Space activity also has a strong regional economic dimension. Launch operations at SaxaVord Spaceport and manufacturing clusters in Scotland, the South East of England, and the Midlands support high-skill jobs in areas that often have limited access to comparable industries.

Although direct employment at spaceports is relatively small, indirect employment through construction, logistics, engineering services, education, and tourism is significantly larger.

In addition, space data generated by UK satellites—such as Earth-observation imagery and communications services—feeds into wider economic activity, supporting industries like agriculture, maritime operations, climate monitoring, and urban planning.

By 2026, the space sector’s role as an enabling industry is expected to outweigh its value as a standalone market, embedding space-derived services across the wider UK economy.