Interview: Dr Sarah Beardsley, director of RAL Space

The UK space sector is booming in 2023. Dr Sarah Beardsley, who was appointed to the role of director at RAL Space last summer after 22 years with the organisation, is particularly enthusiastic about what’s to come this year.

Having been involved with the space sector for over 25 years, she speaks passionately about the opportunities on the horizon for Britain as new capabilities come to fruition.

Beginning her career as an astronomer, Beardsley moved into lunar science which brought her to RAL Space - the UK’s national laboratory for space science and technology development - in 2002. There, she worked on the D-CIXS spectrometer which flew on SMART-1, Europe’s very first Moon mission in 2003.

“Once I was here I realised that actually doing the science wasn’t my thing – what I really loved doing was working with the teams of people that are actually involved in making these missions happen,” she told The Engineer, explaining a career trajectory that has led to her heading up the entire laboratory.