NEW UK laws which could make Scotland the forefront of the British space industry receives Royal Assent today, creating the potential for high-skilled jobs and a boost to the economy.

The Space Industry Act enables the first commercial space launch from UK soil, helping British firms compete in the commercial space race using UK spaceports.

Prestwick, Campbeltown and Stornoway airports have been touted as potential sites for launching small satellites, scientific experiments, and ultimately hypersonic flight.

On in four telecom satellites is already substantially built in Britain and the UK government hopes the industry can increase its global share of the whole space sector from 6.5 to 10 per cent by 2030, with spaceports potentially worth an extra £10bn over the next decade.

UK Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said Scotland had a “strong heritage” in the space sector, with Glasgow building more satellites in the last two years than any other EU city.

He said: “Future space innovations are being created by Scottish institutions like the National Astronomy Technology Centre in Edinburgh and at Strathclyde University, and airports in Prestwick and Campbeltown have worked with companies interested in spaceplane and satellite launch operations.

“Scotland’s geography is well suited to a number of different launch operations, which could mean that as commercial spaceflight takes off we could see rockets launching places like the Western Isles, Shetland Isles and Sutherland.”

UK Space Agency boss Dr Graham Turnock said: “We will set out how we plan to accelerate the development of the first commercial launch services from the UK, and realise the full potential of this enabling legislation over the coming months.”