“Overcoming imposter syndrome was a challenge but also a revelation. I'm not going to pretend to know everything. I focus on what I’m good at and remember that I am where I am for a reason. When I’ve done talks or interviews, such as my appearance on CNN or speaking on stage at the London Science Museum, Korea Space Forum or Expo2020 Dubai, I’ve wondered whether I should be the one doing this; what if they ask me questions that I don’t know the answers to? Eventually I’ve learnt not to fear imposter syndrome, but to embrace it.”
Daniel Smith studied law at Edinburgh Napier without ever having the intention of becoming a lawyer. He knew that he would develop skills which could be transferred to a range of industries, although he never imagined that space would be one of them.
After completing his BA(Hons) Law in 2004, Daniel took some time out to decide what to do next. He worked at a pub, sold windows and conservatories and even made it to the final panel interview to become a police officer before it being suggested that due to his age, he might be better to take a year out and finish the process in the future. This prompted Daniel to move to Gibraltar. A local boy from Penicuik, Midlothian, Daniel lived at home throughout his studies. He never felt like that he got the ‘traditional university experience' and appreciated the opportunity to live somewhere new.
Daniel worked in a restaurant in Gibraltar which was situated opposite the headquarters of numerous online gaming companies. Their senior staff would use the restaurant as their unofficial cafeteria and Daniel got to know people in the industry. He ended up getting a job at one of the firms.
Over the next decade Daniel’s career path took many twists and turns. First, he moved to the Philippines and continued working in the online gaming industry. After a couple of years in Asia, he returned to the UK and took up a position as Head of Sales at a renewable energy magazine. Daniel’s next career move was to join an IT company and lead their business development team. Unbeknownst to Daniel at the time, this industry would be the catalyst to him one day pioneering the space marketing industry.
Scotland has a thriving space industry. Glasgow manufactures more satellites than any other city in the world apart from the US. Edinburgh has a huge satellite data analytics industry and has ambitions to become the space data capital of Europe. The only thing missing is a vehicle to give the UK the ability to launch rockets and put satellites into orbit. This would complete the end-to-end value chain.
"I was asked by the owner of Skyrora, an IT entrepreneur, if I want to set up the UK’s first commercial rocket company. I thought, well, why not?
“I’m never going to be one of those people that has an obvious career path so why not add space into the mix”
Skyrora was founded in 2017. The company designs, manufactures, and deploys rockets to allow small satellite creators to put their products into orbit. In the first couple of years the company grew to over 100 employees and achieved great milestones. In late 2018 they successfully carried out Scotland’s first commercial rocket launch from a base in Ross-Shire in the Scottish Highlands and later Daniel oversaw the engineering team as they tested a fully 3D printed rocket engine in Cornwall, a landmark moment for the UK’s launch ambitions.
At Skyrora, Daniel also led the return of a piece of space history. In 1971, the UK carried out its first and only successful orbital launch. The UK-built Black Arrow, a 13-metre-tall, three-stage rocket, propelled the UK-manufactured satellite Prospero into orbit. The UK became only the 6th country in the world to have achieved such a feat. The launch took place in South Australia and Black Arrow had lain in the Australian outback ever since. That is until Skyrora brought the remains of the rocket back to the UK in 2019, via an unveiling event in Daniel’s hometown of Penicuik with over 100 space sector representatives, government Ministers and even a class of schoolchildren.
This year also saw another piece of history made – Daniel Smith founded AstroAgency, the world’s first space marketing agency.
“The publicity that the sector was getting made me realise that there was a gap in the industry for a marketing agency. Unless it's NASA or SpaceX, people generally aren't aware of what's going on in space. That was going to have to change if the UK was to become a leading space nation.
“In order to get the support of investors, environmental groups or anyone, we needed to change people’s perceptions of space. It’s not just about space missions; space benefits our everyday lives. Most people use space technology before eating breakfast but don’t even realise it. For example, services like Uber or Deliveroo, credit card transactions in shops or internet in certain areas couldn’t work without information from satellites. Space is important as the technology benefits earth.
People asked me if the space sector is big enough for a dedicated marketing agency. I didn’t know, but I was ready to find out.
Daniel founded AstroAgency in 2019 and it has quickly established itself as the global leader in space-focused strategic communications and market intelligence. The team has grown to 25 staff members and the company has had 40 clients so far including the UK Space Agency, Scottish Government, Scottish Enterprise, Scottish Development International and the Australian and Swiss governments, not to mention some of the most exciting private space companies in the world.
“Working with governments is really interesting because it is marketing in the sense that it’s telling the stories of those countries’ space sectors, but also supporting them to understand where the Scottish sector is going.”
Being an advocate for the industry is important to Daniel, and he’s heavily involved with Space Scotland as a founding director of the not-for-profit previously known as the Scottish Space Leadership Council (SSLC). It is an industry-led group of over 60 organisations which brings together industry, government and academia to discuss what the space sector needs.
“I love the idea of industry leaders getting together and putting individual differences aside to work collaboratively on opportunities and challenges, because, when we do, it benefits the entire sector.”
Through his work with Space Scotland, Daniel was heavily involved in the creation of Scotland's space strategy which was launched at Space Week during Expo Dubai in late 2021. The plan aims to create 20,000 jobs and secure a £4 billion share of the global space market.
Daniel is most passionate about the opportunity for the new commercial space sector to develop in an inclusive and diverse manner (AstroAgency is a rare example of a majority female space company) and about engaging with environmental groups to make the industry more sustainable. He is currently the co-Chair of Space Scotland’s Environmental Task Force, which recently published Space Sustainability: A Roadmap for Scotland. This publication charts a path to a more sustainable Scottish space sector through a series of short, medium and long-term work packages.
“Great strides are being made in the industry to improve our environmental impact. For example, Skyrora turns unrecyclable waste plastics into rocket fuel. There are data companies in Edinburgh who use space data for environmental monitoring, tracking endangered species and protecting oceans, often enabled by satellites that were designed and built in Glasgow.
“Because Scotland can offer end-to-end space capability, we can develop a distinguished USP for Scotland in support of wider UK ambitions. When a company wants to launch a payload into space, I’d like them to think, ‘Let’s go to Scotland because that is the place for sustainable space’.”
What does the future hold for the space industry?
“In the last few years, the space sector has gone from being the domain of governments and NASA to being an area that any entrepreneur can thrive in. I’m an example of that. Anybody can get involved in the sector as an investor, entrepreneur or as an employee – the private space sector needs support if it is to reach its potential.
“You don’t need to work in science or engineering. Those jobs are prominent of course, but you could also work in space marketing, insurance, data analytics or logistics. There are even space lawyers!
“The industry is going to grow and grow and grow. Satellites will be launched into orbit from UK soil for the first time this year and there are five developing spaceports in Scotland all preparing to support a growing market that plays a role in supporting the environment, economy, wider society and every business sector imaginable”.