Space is now a defence and data business.
The UK has a new £7.8bn space strategy, a defence plan that would rather buy satellite services than own them, and still no rocket launched to orbit from British soil. The companies worth calling are the ones turning that money into satellites, factories and data products. This brief covers 169 companies and profiles the 15 we would call first.
The money has moved towards defence. The new strategy names four priorities: satellite communications, space domain awareness, in-orbit servicing and manufacturing, and access to space. Trade press reports £2.8bn for connectivity and £880m for space control and surveillance within it. The Ministry of Defence has also cancelled a sovereign narrowband Skynet satellite in favour of buying commercial "space as a service" alongside allies, which opens the door to commercial operators. The UK Space Agency was folded into the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology in April, so the civil buyer is now a government department.
Launch has been the weak spot. Orbex went into administration in February with 163 staff, and Portugal's Omnidea bought its assets on 1 October. Skyrora has pushed its orbital launch to 2030. SaxaVord in Shetland has a new £60m package to finish its pads, but the first launch from it has no new date.
Private money is going to manufacturers and data companies. Open Cosmos raised €300m in September, SatVu £30m in February and NewOrbit $18.5m in June, and the NATO Innovation Fund is backing several of them. Downstream, insurers and banks have started buying satellite data in earnest: AXA and Munich Re's risk partner have both signed with ICEYE, and Sylvera's carbon ratings now sit on the Bloomberg Terminal.
What’s inside.
Building satellites
Manufacturers moving from one-off missions to production lines. These are the biggest buyers on the list: equipment, cleanrooms, components, facilities and large numbers of engineers.
€300m Series C (14 Sep 2026), Harwell. Now valued above $1bn, with over $370m of customer contracts. Plans to build around one satellite a day across four European factories.
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In the full briefing£22.6m Series A (NATO Innovation Fund), Cardiff. Generated plasma in orbit in 2025, won £10m of ESA and UK Space Agency money for its reusable heat shield in June, and agreed its first US manufacturing base with Texas A&M in August.
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In the full briefing$18.5m Series A (Voyager Ventures, June 2026), Reading. Building a production complex in Reading, due to open in early 2027, designed to make several satellites a week. First launch is targeted for 2028.
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In the full briefingListed in Sweden; Q2 sales up 52%, backlog SEK 1.2bn. Guiding to SEK 440m to 510m sales this year. Won €10.9m from ESA for a 12-satellite maritime constellation and €7.6m from OHB Sweden.
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In the full briefingHarwell and Abingdon, over 100 staff. Grew from 50 to over 100 staff in about three years. Its antenna flew on SSTLs CarbSAR satellite in January, and it is tied into the UKs defence radar programme.
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In the full briefingServicing and securing orbit
Companies that remove debris, move satellites or watch what is up there. The new strategy names both areas as priorities, and the work is mostly government-funded.
Harwell, almost 250 staff, expects to double in two to three years. Shortlisted for the UKs £75.6m active debris removal mission and partnered with Open Cosmos on a £5.15m Dstl contract.
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In the full briefing$10.5m seed, Harwell. Opened a £3.8m test lab in February with a two-metre vacuum chamber, which it also rents to other companies. Expected to create about 50 jobs.
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In the full briefing£9m total seed (extended May 2026), London. Customers include the UK Ministry of Defence, the UK Space Agency and the Canadian government. It has joined NATOs DIANA accelerator.
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In the full briefingData from orbit
Companies selling what satellites see. Defence still makes up most demand for Earth observation data, but insurers, banks and carbon markets are now paying customers too.
1,000+ staff across nine countries, including the UK. Revenue doubled in 2025 to over €250m with a €1.5bn backlog, and is guided to grow at a similar rate this year. Signed AXA and Munich Res risk partner for catastrophe data.
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In the full briefing£30m round (NATO Innovation Fund, Feb 2026), London. Its second satellite started commercial operations in June, a third is due this year and it plans more than ten within three years.
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In the full briefingConnectivity, launch and ground
Terminals, laser links and the one licensed vertical spaceport. Defence is the main customer for the first two.
Also worth a call
Companies from the same list worth a call for a different reason: launch assets changing hands, primes building UK defence satellites, and data firms with momentum.
More from the list.
| Company | Sector | Based | Staff |
|---|---|---|---|
| RTX | Industry & Manufacturing | London | 144,513 |
| Boeing | Industry & Manufacturing | London | 140,369 |
| Honeywell | Business Services | Bracknell | 137,321 |
| Lockheed Martin Space | Industry & Manufacturing | San Antonio | 114,573 |
| Lockheed Martin | Industry & Manufacturing | Havant | 113,573 |
| Airbus Helicopters | Industry & Manufacturing | Blagnac Cedex | 89,807 |
| Northrop Grumman | Industry & Manufacturing | London | 89,078 |
| BT Group | Telecommunications | London | 77,330 |
| CGI | Technology | London | 71,518 |
| Thales | Technology | Paris | 67,006 |
| BAE Systems | Industry & Manufacturing | London | 55,983 |
| Rolls-Royce | Industry & Manufacturing | London | 32,024 |
| L3Harris Technologies | Industry & Manufacturing | London | 31,548 |
| Airbus Defence and Space | Industry & Manufacturing | Stevenage | 18,901 |
| Honeywell Aerospace | Telecommunications | Bracknell | 12,663 |
The rest of this briefing is in Honch.
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