U.K. trade delegates visiting Florida this week said British small satellite expertise would be a good match for the Sunshine State’s space launch industry as it seeks to diversify in the post-shuttle era, Reuters reported April 4.
“We’ve learned from experience that partnership pays off,” said Keith Mason, chief executive of the U.K. Space Agency, part of the delegation. “Our companies that are working with each other are growing at twice the rate of those that are not. By working together we can make the cake bigger and everybody gets a bigger slice.”
The trade mission is part of an international outreach effort coordinated by the state-backed economic development agency Space Florida.
“Countries like the U.K., with a strong satellite capability and a strong research and science capability, they want to fly payloads. They can either fly as secondary on European launchers, or we can make Florida’s assets available to them,” said Space Florida President Frank DiBello. “That’s what we’re trying to open up. We’re working to bring business to the U.S. and form clusters of industries that can help grow U.S. capability.”
