As part of a new £200 million government stimulus investment package, £60 million is being injected into a British-designed rocket which could ‘revolutionise’ air travel.

Minister for universities and science David Willetts has unveiled the government investment and says that the move has been so that the UK can meet its target of capturing 10 per cent of the world market.

The UK space industry is currently worth £9.1 billion, but the coalition is putting in the infrastructure and investment in the hope that it will be worth £30 billion in 2030.

The £60 million investment project is SABRE, a technology which is reported to have the potential to create 21,000 high value engineering and manufacturing jobs, maximise the UK’s access to a £13.8 billion launcher market and drive growth in related technology areas.

Back in May, GrowthBusiness profiled the British space sector and looked at how developments, such as the creation of a global navigation satellite system (Galileo) currently being built by the European Union and the European Space Agency, were presenting opportunities for entrepreneurs. The £4.3 billion development was devised to provide a high-precision positioning system which countries in Europe can rely on.

Willetts has also outlined details which sees space technology company Astrium awarded £134 million to develop instruments for the ‘next generation’ of weather satellites.

‘To meet our target of capturing ten per cent of a growing world market we must harness new opportunities in new areas of space,’ Willetts says.

‘This substantial contract [Astrium] shows that the UK’s increased investment in the European Space Agency is already paying dividends and getting us ahead in the global race and the space race.’