For engineers, today鈥檚 lab projects are tomorrow鈥檚 satellites (Image: SSTL/Surrey Space Centre)
As the UK prepares to launch tourists into space, the career opportunities for engineers are about to take off
LAUNCHING a space tourism industry was never going to be an easy ride, as the recent crash of Virgin Galactic鈥檚 VSS Enterprise proved. Nonetheless, the industry is united in its determination to press on. That includes the , which earlier this year revealed plans to open a spaceport on British soil by聽2018. As much as it seemed like a bolt from the blue, the UK spaceport plan is the result of a three-year review of spaceplanes and their potential by the UKSA, the and the . In 2011, the organisations set out to discover how the UK can boost its satellite manufacturing and space science sector, which is currently earning 拢11.3 billion in revenues 鈥� . Their conclusion? 鈥淭he new opportunity the UK can seize is for the person in the street to go to space,鈥� says UKSA chief executive .
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Indeed, according to satellite company in Guildford, by 2028 a UK spaceport could be flying 400 tourists a year and reaping revenues of around 拢40 million. Additionally, , as well as acting as a hub for technology providers, space finance and insurance outfits and tourism firms. This would considerably boost the current tally of 34,300 people employed in the UK space-flight industry, whose expertise could be exported, the government says.
聯By 2028 a UK spaceport could fly 400 tourists a year, generating 拢40 million聰
The plan is inspiring engineers already working in the space industry. 鈥淚t is amazing,鈥� says Chris Draper, who works on the heat shield for the European Space Agency鈥檚 鈥� which will go closer to the sun than any other human-made object 鈥� at in Stevenage, UK. 鈥淣ot only will the spaceport be a real contribution to the British economy and the European space arena, but it鈥檚 the stuff dreams are made of.鈥�
There are two likely contenders for the UK鈥檚 first spaceplane: 鈥榮 SpaceShipTwo and 鈥榮 Lynx, which are both being developed in the US.
Xcor president Andrew Nelson 鈥� an Ohio University electronics graduate turned aerospace engineer 鈥� says the company鈥檚 UK operation 鈥渟hould create a number of opportunities for UK-based engineers, directly and indirectly鈥�. For example, engineers will be designing fuels and spaceships to carry cargo and people. Medical engineers will also play a vital role in ensuring that prospective tourists are fit for high-speed travel.
Likewise, Jonathan Firth, senior vice-president of Virgin Galactic鈥檚 spaceport development operation, and a mechanical engineering graduate from Imperial College London, thinks the UK spaceport could be 鈥渁 unique catalyst鈥� for the nation鈥檚 space industry. 鈥淎reas where the UK is already strong, like small satellite technology, would benefit once spaceplane operations are established,鈥� he says. That鈥檚 because Virgin and Xcor plan satellite-launching versions of their craft too.
The talented cadre of engineers that power the UK鈥檚 satellite industry have been inspired to join for many different reasons. Laura Subias Sin, an engineer at SSTL, says she enjoys working in an industry with 鈥渁 huge impact on millions of people and in multiple sectors of the economy, even if they often don鈥檛 realise it.鈥� Beyond satellite TV and GPS, satellites provide farmers with information on their crops, and monitor weather events, for example. As a graduate trainee, Subias Sin helps develop and test small satellites. It鈥檚 not all hard graft, she says 鈥� last year she joined her colleagues on a skiing trip in which they all took to the pistes dressed as Star Wars characters.
Her colleague Shaun Kenyon, SSTL鈥檚 R&D coordinator, recommends that budding space engineers apply for one of the many graduate employment programmes. 鈥淕etting a place on one of these schemes can be competitive, but if you know your stuff and keep calm on the assessment day you鈥檒l be fine,鈥� he says.
That鈥檚 how Abbie Hutty launched her career. Hutty landed a placement with SSTL while studying for a master鈥檚 in mechanical engineering and now works at Airbus Defence and Space, where she is helping to develop a rover to explore Mars. Her advice to anyone considering space engineering is simple: 鈥淒o it. There鈥檚 a kick that you get from seeing your project built and ready to launch that you can never get in any other industry.鈥�
聯There鈥檚 a kick that you get from seeing your project built and ready to launch聰
While Hutty鈥檚 inspiration came from watching television reports of the ill-fated Beagle 2 Mars rover, Kenyon describes himself as a long-time 鈥渕assive space geek鈥�. 鈥�Star Trek: The Next Generation was on TV just as I was starting to discover science and engineering. I wanted to build those spaceships.鈥� Now he gets to assess the technologies that will, or will not, make it into future spacecraft.
As the UKSA prepares its spaceport plan, the nation鈥檚 space engineering and tourism industry is set to take off, says Kenyon. 鈥淭he early 21st century will be for the space industry what the mid-20th century was for aviation,鈥� he says. 鈥淏y leading that industry, Britain鈥檚 engineers could head up one of the most lucrative growth areas of the century.鈥�
Leader: 鈥�Why space tourism is worth the risk鈥�
How safe is space travel?
Last month鈥檚 Virgin Galactic crash, albeit in a test flight, was a reminder that flying in a spaceplane is聽riskier than flying in an aeroplane. Spaceplanes are rockets after all, and will operate under different liability laws to those governing airliners. That鈥檚 where safety engineers come in.
Rocketry is inherently dangerous, so space tourism will not be like boarding an exhaustively tested and safety-certified airliner. Instead, the UK is likely to follow the US Federal Aviation Administration by treating civilian spaceflight as akin to a dangerous sport. That would mean tourists must give informed consent after operators have fully explained all the risks, similar to the way patients consent to surgery.
鈥淚f certification of spacecraft was demanded, as you would for, say, a Boeing 787, in all probability the industry would never get off the ground,鈥� said George Whitesides, Virgin Galactic CEO, in an interview before the crash. 鈥淭he critical thing is the concept of informed consent under which operators are required to inform customers of the risks鈥� and make sure that they understand those risks before they fly,鈥� he said.
Safety engineers will play a vital role in working out the dangers of space travel and trying to minimise the risks, as well as explaining them clearly to crew and passengers.
This article appeared in print under the headline 鈥淩eady for lift off鈥�