Dragonfly Aerospace Eyes Site in Post-Brexit UK

South Africa based Dragonfly Aerospace is considering the UK as the home for its next premises. According to Dragonfly CEO Bryan Dean, the company might even relocate its headquarters to Britain.

In an article in The Express on 24th September, Bryan Dean stated that Britain’s economy, the government’s utilisation of outer space and rapidly growing space industry made for an attractive alternative to South Africa. The potential move makes sense as the company branches out from making cameras for space industry use. As it transits toward a space-based data imaging company, a move northward makes sense.

Dean stated that he sees “doing that from the UK as a much better option than doing it from South Africa in terms of where our customers are and in terms of where we believe we can work well with national governments as well.”

That, following the purchase of the OneWeb satellite constellation company and the planned launch of the Cornwall spaceport, seems to offer unexpectedly bright prospects for the country’s space sector.

According to Dean, the company is currently exploring the use of satellites and satellite data to avert humanitarian calamities, foster agricultural production and mitigate the effects of climate change on Earth.

Attractiveness of the UK Space Scene

To Dean, the UK could also be a great choice for the company since the UK government is a better client than the German and French governments.

Apart from being the perfect location for its budding international business, Mr Dean noted that UK’s access to capital is crucial for the company’s rapid scale to cement its position in the highly competitive niche.

‘Private capital in the UK is very useful to us,’ he said. According to him, perfect business relations coupled with an upper hand in securing funding for space ventures make building a commercial space business in Britain a no-brainer.

As for Brexit, though not a supporter of the idea, Mr Dean sees economic separation from Europe as an opportunity for emphasizing bilateral relations, especially in view of the intensifying cooperation between the UK and non-EU countries like the US and Australia.

About Dragonfly Aerospace

Dragonfly Aerospace is a space engineering firm specialising in building satellites and their imagers. Their hardware has made its way into several CubeSat imagers and satellites, the most notable being their hand in designing and manufacturing the cameras used in the DART mission.

The company’s current headquarters are in South Africa. It launched Dragonfly UK last year and is contemplating migrating its operations there for a better brand presence.