The Connective Tissue of a Space Economy

What does it take to build a space economy?

Dr. Barbara Ghinelli has spent more than 15 years working on that question. As Director of Innovation Clusters and Harwell Campus at UKRI-STFC, she has helped develop the Harwell Space Cluster and founded the new UK Space and Defence Gateway.

In this episode of SSPI's 2026 UK Space and Satellite Personality of the Year nominee series, Barbara joins Executive Director Tamara Bond-Williams to explore what makes clusters work, why investment needs its own ecosystem, and what the UK needs to turn extraordinary innovation into companies capable of growing at industrial scale.

Barbara also explains why the next evolution of clusters may require stronger connections across sectors and regions, what she believes the UK Space and Satellite Personality of the Year should champion, and why human spaceflight requires a fundamental shift toward designing for failure as well as success.