The committee’s report, published in September 2025, warned that Scotland was at risk of losing a “generational opportunity” to become the European leader in space launch. The cross-party committee urged the UK government to commit to sustained investment in the sector to ensure it retained its “first mover advantage” in commercial small satellite launch.

The UK government’s response to this report agreed with the committee’s recommendations that long term, strategic investment commitment is essential to the success of the UK’s space sector.

The government states in its response that it plans to publish a new cross-government space publication in 2026, which would set out its strategic approach and priorities over the spending review period. In line with the committee’s recommendations, the UK government outlined that this would provide the space launch industry with the clarity and confidence it needs.

The committee also recommended that the Ministry of Defence (MoD) should work with the UK Space Agency and Scottish stakeholders to integrate defence priorities into the launch sector. The UK government clarified that the MoD is working closely with the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology to develop this publication and a “one-government” capability-led approach to space.

However, in its response the UK government caveated this by stating that space launch was a high-risk industry, meaning the government “takes on a risk when investing” in the sector. It clarified that this meant it would not be able to “guarantee success in building Scottish launch at any cost”.

Patricia Ferguson, chair of the Scottish Affairs Committee, said: “With five out of the UK’s seven developing spaceports located in Scotland, we have real potential to become work leader in satellite space launch.

“However, it was clear to the committee that unless the UK government moves further and faster to support the sector, Scotland will lose out on this generational opportunity.

“With this in mind, I’m pleased to see the UK government agrees with our assessment. I welcome the government’s commitment to set out its strategic priorities and costed plans for the sector in 2026.

“The committee will examine this publication, to see whether it can provide Scotland’s space launch industry with the confidence and clarity it needs to scale up and realise the UK’s potential as a serious contender on the global launch stage.”