"putting it in a growing sector like this should pay for itself and give it a head start over other European countries who are also looking to develop their space sectors."
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That makes no sense.
The UK is in a bad location for a launch facility... too far from the equator, no safe ocean clearance to the east (be prepared to pay big time for dropping failed rockets into someone else's city), potential weather issues, high density of air traffic...
They are playing catch-up behind at least six or seven current space launch vendors... many of whom have decades of experience at it.
AFAIK, not only does the UK lack a facility, it lacks a reliable, tested, mature launch vehicle.
Why do they seem to think it will be easy to become a major player in the market? They don't even build their own ICBMs - a good starting point for early launch vehicles.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
