GLASGOW Prestwick Spaceport was reaching for the stars last night after signing a deal with its big cousin in Houston that will enable it to share policies, processes and other information relating to space travel licensing and operations, as well as boosting the economy by hundreds of millions of pounds.

The Memo of Understanding (MoU) was signed as a delegation from Houston Spaceport and Rice Space Institute met representatives from the Scottish space industry and local politicians at Prestwick, which is aiming to strengthen its case to become the UK’s first spaceport.

Richard Jenner, director of Prestwick Spaceport and Arturo Machuca, Houston Spaceport’s general manager, signed the agreement that will boost the Scottish site’s hopes of eventually launching passenger space flights. It also marks the start of a process to develop global “best practice” for commercial space launch activities, safety and environmental standards.

Jenner said: “We couldn’t wish for a more experienced partner than Houston. They have a history of facilitating government-funded launches and it is exciting to be embarking on the move to commercial launches alongside them.

“This partnership will hopefully expedite the establishment of a spaceport at Prestwick, as soon as we have the guidance from the CAA [Civil Aviation Authority], DfT [Department for Transport] and UK Space Agency on what a regulatory framework will involve for UK spaceports. We would anticipate that we will have this clarity at some point in 2017.

“Glasgow Prestwick developing a spaceport in Scotland will bring huge economic benefits – up to £320 million towards our economy. This is before taking account of the further added value the spaceport, our partners in the developing aerospace campus around us and wider science and technology industries can gain from having access to NASA research and resources.”

Machuca added: “The pioneers who first made inroads in space travel and space exploration began as contestants in a race, but soon realised that any hope of safely and efficiently reaching those goals would require productive and valuable partnerships.

“As we begin the next steps in this ambitious endeavour, partnerships like this will benefit everyone, and will strengthen not only our assets and technology, but also our resolve to make commercial space travel a viable and valuable tool.”

David Alexander, Rice Space Institute, said it saw similarities between what was happening at Prestwick and Houston.

“Particularly exciting is the opportunity for the spaceports to act as catalysts to foster collaboration across the high-tech space, energy and medical industries: strengths that Scotland and Houston share,” he said.

“The direct engagement of universities such as Glasgow, Strathclyde and Rice create additional opportunities for promoting innovation in research and education.”

The agreement will see customers referred between the two spaceports – Prestwick customers who want equatorial or tropical launches will be referred to Houston and Houston customers looking for polar launches referred to the Ayrshire facility.

Scottish Secretary David Mundell added: “This is good news for the future of spaceport development in Scotland and I am pleased to see such momentum behind it.

“The UK Government’s Modern Transport Bill, to be published early next year, will help create the right legal framework for these new developments to progress.

“A British spaceport would represent a new frontier for our country. It would create skilled jobs in a cutting-edge industry, and today’s announcement means Prestwick is a frontrunner to boldly go at the forefront of this exciting new era of travel.”