Rachel Hopkins

It is a pleasure to speak in this debate in support of my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow East (John Grady) and his mission to make positive change in this industry. I profess that I have little knowledge about space, but he and others have made their points so well about how this slight change to the licensing of spaceflight—the launch, flight and return of spacecraft satellites, which is something I can just about envisage—would encourage greater investment in businesses. That growth and investment is so important for all of us and for our economy. So much of our day-to-day life is reliant on satellites. We had an important debate earlier about the use of smartphones—but hey, we all need them, and they are reliant on satellites in space. I reflected on spaceflight and activities in outer space. Like some others in the Chamber, I remember “Flash Gordon” and “Star Wars” coming out. It was so surreal and fantastical; it was, indeed, “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away….” Okay, I got it in Hansard. Encouraging investment in space is really important, and I speak as the granddaughter of an eminent physicist. Again, it is the combination of science and the evolution of engineering and computing—all of this—that is so important for the future of business in the space sector. As we are talking about investment in businesses, I want to encourage young people to search out a career in the future space industry. Others have spoken about careers in space science and technology, particularly in Scotland, which is great to hear. Although my hon. Friend represents Glasgow East, he is originally from Bedfordshire, which is another reason why I wanted to speak in this debate, which gives me a brilliant opportunity to talk about the University of Bedfordshire. The main campus is in my constituency of Luton South and South Bedfordshire, but the other campus is in Bedford itself. There are some brilliant opportunities to study on courses in artificial intelligence, robotics, computer science, software engineering and applications, electronic engineering and mechanical engineering, all of which would lead to brilliant careers in the space industry, so I strongly encourage young people who are looking to forge a career to consider them, as well as career changers—I wholeheartedly believe in lifelong learning, so maybe I could yet become someone involved in space. The space industry is an important growth area for jobs across the UK. There are some in my constituency, and it is fantastic that we are looking to grow our economy up and down the United Kingdom, so I absolutely welcome this change. Small it may be, but it will have a big impact. I wanted to get on record my support for this measure and its importance for people in my constituency who may want to seek out a future career in the space industry.