10 Runway ready
- Two major runways 2,987m (12/30) and 1,989m (03/21)
- Runway construction spaceport suitable.
- Full concrete base runway (12/30), taxiways and hard standing.
- Limited time and cost required to become fully spaceport compliant.
- Approach over sea and countryside with low population density
- NATS Northern control based at Prestwick.
9 Workforce ready
- Prestwick features a strong presence of international aerospace companies, including Collins Aerospace, GE Caledonian, BAE Systems, Spirit and Woodward, Inc.
- It is an established centre of excellence for MRO, aero structures and design engineering
- 8,000 engineering undergraduates within 50 miles of Prestwick
- 4 million people within 2hrs.
8 Knowledge ready
- Over £150 million investment in Ayrshire further and higher education infrastructure over the past 5 years
- The Advanced Forming Research Centre (AFRC) at the University of Strathclyde, 35 miles away, is one of 7 elite centres in the UK. The £35million facility focuses on developing, forming and forging, technologies to support the production of high integrity components.
7 Visitor ready
- Existing Ayrshire & Arran tourism market is worth in excess of £340m pa
- With its world famous golf courses (including the championship course Royal Troon), historic castles, beautiful coastlines and a rich cultural heritage, Ayrshire has significant appeal for UK and overseas visitors
- The site is well connected to the rest of Scotland through direct rail and motorway links. These links, along with a number of ferry ports, provide easy access to the capital city Edinburgh, historic towns of Stirling and Perth, Loch Lomond National Park as well as the Islands off the west coast and the Scottish Highlands.
6 Infrastructure ready
- Motorway/dual carriageway link direct to airport
- Two sea ports within 5 miles
- Direct passenger and freight rail link – the only rail connected site
- Operational international passenger airport with terminal facilities available for up to 2.5 million passengers.
5 Development ready
- 880 acres of surrounding development land, benefitting from an excellent transport infrastructure
- Enterprise Zone incentives are available, with up to 100% non-domestic rates relief and a streamlined planning process.
4 Community ready
- Glasgow Prestwick Airport has been an integral and valued part of the community, and a key source of employment, for almost 100 years
- The airport and surrounding industry have forged strong links with the local community, who remain eager to drive the growth of space industry and space launch at Glasgow Prestwick
- Deeply rooted aerospace and aviation heritage in virtually every household in the area.
3 Innovation ready
- The Strathclyde Space Institute (University of Strathclyde) is a multi-disciplinary venture addressing key challenges in space systems engineering, satellite applications and access to space
- Space Glasgow (University of Glasgow) brings together more than 20 academics to co-ordinate research. The University helped to develop the optical bench for the European Space Agency’s LISA Pathfinder spacecraft
- Satellite Applications Catapult Mission Laboratory at the University of Strathclyde.
2 Industry ready
- 16% of the UK’s space industry workforce are based in Scotland – with 50% of that workforce being based in and around the Glasgow Prestwick Spaceport site
- Clyde Space, based in Glasgow, produce products used by NASA and the ESA.
- Glasgow produces more small satellites than any other city in Europe.
1 Commercially ready
- An independent technical assessment estimated the investment required at Glasgow Prestwick Airport to meet US licencing requirements was minimal.
- Skilled workforce already in place with low additional running costs associated with spaceport.
- Prestwick’s high latitude makes it perfectly placed to launch polar orbit satellites.
- With the best VFR record of any UK commercial airport, a Glasgow Prestwick Spaceport would minimise days lost and cancellations to weather.
