@ Sparky49, thanks, that's answered my question, I wasn't aware of Orbex, so I've learnt something new today. Carbonite 2 is is pretty cool, only 8 months development, SSTL really know their stuff and the videos were good.
No worries! It's still early days but it is somewhat reassuring to see some semi-sensible practices taking place, ie both fiscally and technically. Good to see a semi cohesive strategy regarding the use of existing 'off the self' systems, even on launch vehicles which I think will be interesting to watch over the next 5-10 years. I think it's important to consider the UK is taking a somewhat different approach to space than other countries, mainly out of necessity - we can't afford to build the biggest, most cutting edge tech, but we are trying to fill a niche which fits within our past and current doctrine well. It's not necessarily bad, just different.
And yeah SSTL are amazing! I was chatting to one of their engineers at an airshow the other day and was blown away when he said it took them 8 months and £4.5 million investment from MoD. And the best bit is this the system is really a tech _demo_ - and what we see is only what they are releasing to the public. Gives me a little glimmer of hope that we can still spin some cool tech now and then.