Daniel Smith is a space entrepreneur who has played a founding role in several space companies since 2017, most notably as Founder of AstroAgency, a strategic communications and market intelligence firm. In 2024, he was appointed the Scottish Government’s first Trade & Investment Envoy for Space and became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. He also serves on the UK Space Agency’s Space Safety & Sustainability Advisory Group and is involved with the European Space Agency’s Business Incubation Centre in the UK.

Daniel is currently leading AstroAgency’s expansion into the United States, after recently partnering with Voyager Technologies and Cislunar International. AstroAgency will open a North American office at VISTA, Voyager’s new science park initiative in Columbus, OH.

Tell us a little about your background and what led you to AstroAgency.

I grew up in a small Scottish town called Penicuik, on a council estate where a career in space couldn’t have been further from my mind. I went on to study law at university, but afterwards realised my real passion lay in business development, sales, and marketing. Those interests took me abroad, working across the IT sector in countries like Gibraltar, the Philippines, and Ukraine.

I returned to Scotland when a long-standing business partner asked me to help him establish a rocket company, after he had spotted a gap in the UK’s sovereign launch capability. With spaceports being developed in the north of Scotland, the timing was right, and that became my baptism into the industry as a director of Skyrora in 2016/17. It’s been exciting to watch the company progress so close to launch today and I remain close with the team.

Since then, I’ve played a founding role in five space companies, but my day-to-day focus has been on AstroAgency for six years now. The idea came from my unusual route into the sector, I think. I could see how many brilliant engineers and scientists were developing world-class technology, but often struggled to connect with the audiences who could fund, support, or apply their work in a commercial sense. AstroAgency was created to bridge that gap, helping space organisations communicate their value not just within the sector, but also to governments, investors, and wider industries that can benefit from space technology and satellite data.

You’ve worked across space, defense, and sustainability, what draws you to these areas, and why focus on space at this point?

I have a theory that once you enter the space sector, it’s almost impossible to imagine working anywhere else! Even though humanity has been exploring space for decades, the commercial side for solving challenges back on Earth is still in its infancy, especially here in the UK. That sense of being at ground level, building something new, is very real. With AstroAgency, we found a unique niche, working with over 80 space companies, multiple national space agencies, universities, and enterprise agencies in just six years has confirmed that there was a real gap to fill, and that we’re making a tangible impact.

A lot of space is intertwined with defence. As someone who co-founded AstroAgency with my Ukrainian business partner, Dasha, and who is also married to a Ukrainian, my personal perspective has inevitably shifted on defence, in the same way Europe’s view on defence has changed in recent years.

Sustainability is another area I’m deeply drawn to. Every sector needs to reduce its environmental impact, and space is no exception. While rockets often conjure up images of smoke and fire, the reality is that the sector is pioneering green propellants and more sustainable supply chains, something I was involved in at Skyrora with the Ecocene fuel. But what many people don’t realise is that two-thirds of global environmental monitoring data actually comes from satellites. So launch is not just about access to space, it’s an enabler of huge environmental benefits, from tracking deforestation and illegal fishing to supporting net zero targets.

Some of my favourite moments since starting AstroAgency have been collaborating with the wider sector, Friends of the Earth, the UN, and ESA to encourage space companies to think more sustainably. If the UK can embed sustainability into our launch offering and satellite technologies from the start, it will give us a real competitive advantage in the long term.

What differentiates AstroAgency from other space marketing and intelligence companies?

To our knowledge, AstroAgency was the world’s first dedicated space marketing firm, and remains the only one that combines communications and outreach with market intelligence, led by a team that all have prior experience inside the space industry itself. That background means we approach things as a space company working from within to help to shift perceptions of the sector and highlight its economic and environmental value with new audiences, rather than simply as a marketing agency that has spotted space as a new revenue stream.

Being first has also given us the chance to build a strong track record. We’ve delivered more than 100 projects for leading organisations including Spire, Hydrosat, CATALYST, Spaceflux, and institutions such as the UK Space Agency, the Australian Government, ESA, NASA, the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre and CEOS. Those case studies show real results, from reaching non-space sectors like agriculture, transport, defence, maritime and finance with satellite data, through to supporting clients with investment and international growth.

What are some recent milestones or achievements you’re most proud of at AstroAgency?

A few milestones stand out. One is the sustainability work I mentioned earlier. Having the opportunity to work with Friends of the Earth, University of Edinburgh, Scottish Enterprise and the European Space Agency on developing the world’s first national space sustainability strategy – Scotland’s space sustainability roadmap, was a huge moment for us, perfectly aligned with AstroAgency’s ideals. The work and publicity that followed positioned Scotland on the global map as a leader in sustainable space, something the country hadn’t previously been associated with.

Another highlight has been our educational outreach. Helping to share the story of the UK Space Agency’s active debris removal mission, led by ClearSpace and Astroscale, with completely new audiences at events like Blue Dot Festival and New Scientist Live was special, as it reminded us of something we often forget from inside the space ‘bubble’, that most people are not aware how important satellites are to so many of our daily activities, from financial transactions, internet and GPS. I’ll never forget hearing audiences gasp when they realised the space station, filled with astronauts inside, has had to move multiple times to avoid human-made debris and junk in orbit. Those moments of awareness and inspiration whether in the challenges or opportunities of space are a big part of why we do what we do.

And finally, although we’re a marketing agency at our core, the breadth of skills across our team means we’ve also been trusted to write regional space strategies. A memorable example is the strategy we developed for one of the fastest growing space clusters, Space East in East Anglia.

Working with emerging space players in the UK and abroad always takes me back to my early journey in Scotland’s space sector, building something with a community of people who share the same vision and determination.

How do your collaborations with governments, private companies, and international partners influence your approach to marketing in the space sector?

Our collaborations across government, industry, and international partners constantly shape our approach. Governments require us to focus on policy alignment and public value, private companies ultimately want clear commercial outcomes, but alongside customers also require help reaching talent, investors and suppliers. On the international front, space is a truly global sector and the opportunities for international collaboration are endless.

Astroagency was pleased to receive funding from the UK Space Agency a couple of years ago to bring together UK space data firms with stakeholders in the UAE, a fantastic project that opened our eyes to the potential of matching together capabilities and challenges. Balancing all those perspectives has helped us refine strategies that resonate not just within the space community, but also with investors, policymakers, and end-users in non-space sectors.

AstroAgency has worked with very well-known organizations in the space sector. What does that level of support mean for the company, and how does it shape your roadmap?

Working with some of the best-known organisations in space has been both a validation of our approach and a springboard for growth. It gives us credibility, opens doors to new markets, and allows us to showcase impact at the highest level. This in turn shapes our roadmap by setting a standard of excellence we aim to deliver for every client, large or small, scale-up, prime or government agency.

Space has been an important industry for decades, but why is it more relevant now than ever?

For me it’s about the commercial aspect. Space being ‘private’ as well as ‘public’, an industry where people like me, without technical degrees and not working for NASA, is a game-changer for the sector. Ultimately though, it is more relevant to society now because as well as inspiring and teaching us, it now also underpins so much of our daily lives, with thousands of satellites providing communications and navigation to monitoring climate change and supporting national security. The commercial sector is growing rapidly, because it is not so much an industry on its own, as a sector that supports almost every industry imaginable, opening new opportunities for innovation, investment, acting as an application area and solving global challenges here on Earth.

How do you see the intersection of space, marketing, and intelligence evolving over the next few years?

I think we’ll see the importance of marketing continue to grow. Even the most advanced products can be overlooked if they lack visibility. Building brand awareness and reaching the right customers is crucial in any commercial industry, and space is no different. Over time, marketing may become just as valued as the cutting-edge engineering and science driving the sector. The companies that succeed will be those who tell their story effectively while making data-driven decisions based on robust market intelligence.

Are there any untapped opportunities in the space sector that you believe companies are overlooking?

I’m excited by emerging technologies like quantum and photonics being combined with space, but for me the biggest untapped opportunities lie in how satellite data can solve real-world challenges outside of the space sector. From radar that measures soil moisture to prevent landslides, to infrared detecting crop disease before the human eye ever could, to imagery supporting national security, space has a role in almost every sector imaginable.

Every week I see new applications — in sport, filmmaking, combating human trafficking, and tackling plastic pollution in our oceans. Health and societal challenges are next. The main barrier isn’t the technology, it’s visibility. If we can showcase what satellite data can do, uptake from governments and industries will grow, and then everyone benefits.

Looking ahead, what can we expect from AstroAgency’s efforts in the US? Any key milestones, developments, or initiatives on the horizon?

We’re very excited about the traction we’ve gained in the US and North America more broadly. Working with companies like CATALYST, who have been applying satellite data for decades and trust us with their brand, and more recently building partnerships with US firms like Voyager Technologies, OrbitFab, NovaSpace, Terrametric, AlphaData, Astraius, and others, has shown there is real demand for our services in the world’s largest commercial space market.

Our goal is to build on this momentum through a strategic approach that delivers high-quality marketing and leverages our space knowledge (saving companies the time it would normally take to educate a service agency) and global connections to support US firms commercialize their offerings in the US, but also to help them expand overseas when the time is right.

We also anticipate growing our team and presence on the ground in North America, and discussions are already underway with Voyager about establishing an AstroAgency office within their VISTA Science Park, the nation’s first science park dedicated to in-space research and innovation, at The Ohio State University, which would be an exciting step forward for our company.

The post Q&A with Daniel Smith, Founder of AstroAgency, and the Scottish Government’s Trade & Investment Envoy for Space appeared first on citybiz.

This contant was orignally distributed by citybiz. Blockchain Registration, Verification & Enhancement provided by NewsRamp™. The source URL for this press release is Q&A with Daniel Smith, Founder of AstroAgency, and the Scottish Government’s Trade & Investment Envoy for Space.