ONE of Scotland’s leading space companies has announced its new head, as they pledge to solidify the country's ambitions to be one of the leading forces in the expansion of space technology.
Space Scotland has appointed Dr Natasha Nicholson as its new chief executive officer as she aims to use her scientific expertise to help guide the country's rapidly growing sector into a key international player.
Space Scotland, a not-for-profit company, was founded in 2021 and supports Scotland’s space industry, academia, and government representatives in a bid to further develop the country's space sector.
Dr Nicholson’s appointment comes at a pivotal moment for Scotland’s space ambitions, with Europe’s first-ever commercial launch into orbit expected to take place from Shetland in the months ahead.
“There's so much potential, so much existing, fantastic work being done here in Scotland and so much potential to take it further as well,” Dr Nicholson told The National.
With a surge in commercial activity across research, manufacturing, and satellite data analysis, Scotland now hosts more than 180 space organisations and leads Europe in the manufacture of small satellites, with firms like Spire Global, AAC Clyde Space, and Alba Orbital all operating from Glasgow alone.
Dr Nicholson (below) said her vision for the future includes continuing to support the “amazing satellite manufacturing” that Scottish firms are currently producing and wants to further the “attractiveness” Scotland offers to international firms to invest in the country.
She added that Scotland's space sector has already made an amazing contribution for “a small European country” and insisted that Scotland has “strengths in so many other areas beyond space as well,” as she lists advanced manufacturing, AI, and robotics as core strengths for the country.
Dr Nicholson also praised Scotland’s space community for its collaborative approach with its industry working in partnership with many of its universities and colleges, along with Scottish Enterprise and the UK Space Agency.
“It's been a very collaborative approach to things, and it would be a real shame not to have that approach because there are so many fantastic organisations and great strengths here in Scotland, and that pooling our resources is always going to give us better results,” Dr Nicholson said.
She added: “There's a lot to be done and I think Scotland can really be at the forefront of some of the new emerging sectors, sort of subspace sectors as well, like in space manufacturing.”
Dr Nicholson, who is returning to Space Scotland after leaving to run her own firm for a while, said she had “really fond memories” of the organisation and of the Scottish space community.
Space Scotland chair and board director Peter Young welcomed Dr Nicholson’s appointment as he said: “Scotland’s space industry offers major opportunities across sustainability, launch, data and advanced manufacturing, while also enabling innovation in sectors like life sciences, AI and fintech.
“Natasha is the right person to help us harness that potential. Her scientific knowledge, delivery focus, and strong network made her an outstanding choice.”
Young added there's a huge job to be done in promoting Scotland’s thriving space sector as he said people are quick to jump to the idea of something like Elon Musk taking people to Mars or something else “fanatical” when there are a lot of real-world applications which benefit immensely from the sector growing.
“Actually, literally, it's more down to earth than that in terms of what this space industry is and what it can bring,” he said.
“It can add value to daily life stuff in terms of what's happening here in Scotland.”
Young (below) said that, while there are plans for Scotland to have its first commercial take off in the near future, “it's not all about missions to Mars or asteroids”.
He said: “There's something much more valuable and concrete in terms of what space can deliver.”
When Dr Nicholson was last with Space Scotland, she helped establish a pilot where students from universities and colleges worked with the space industry to get real-life experience and said she hopes to introduce more similar initiatives to get Scots involved.
The initiative was designed to be more practical and transitional for people who had either just come out of university or had graduated with a more general engineering background, so they could learn more specifics around skills for the likes of satellite manufacturing and other space sectors.
With a PhD in astrobiology, Dr Nicholson has held roles including Cross-Cluster Liaison Manager for the Science and Technology Facilities Council at Harwell Campus, Chief Scientific Officer for the Arctic research station, and CEO for a space-related research and development business.
She will now lead the next phase of development for Space Scotland, bringing focus to the delivery of the national strategy.
