B2Space (www.b2-space.com) and Snowdonia Aerospace Centre want to create 93 specialist jobs at Llanbedr airfield in Gwynedd.

This number is based on launching 30 satellites a year by 2020 (they will be used for tracking changes to
the environment and coastlines — as well as other applications).

B2Space’s Valentin Canales said about 3,000 micro satellites will need to be launched in the next five years, as we “use space in a way that hasn’t been considered before”.

His firm and the aerospace centre have bid for grants totalling £10 million to make the airfield, which is near Harlech, a key UK site for launches.

“Wales is already a centre of excellence for aerospace manufacturing, and it has the physical and intellectual infrastructure to support the growing space market,” said Mr Canales, whose firm will relocate from Bristol to Llanbedr if the project is successful.

A spokesman for the Snowdonia Aerospace Centre said the development of a low-cost satellite launch operation will be a catalyst for innovation and jobs.

John Idris Jones, chairman of Snowdonia Enterprise Zone, added: “The project has the potential to attract technology, research and investment from around the world.

The development means lots of opportunities for the north Wales supply chain, and it will provide a real boost to the wider Wales space sector.”

Llanbedr has also bid to become the UK’s first commercial passenger spaceport, and applications for funding have been submitted to the UK Space Agency.