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Britain to establish space agency 'Muscular' UK Space Agency set up
(8 minutes later)
The UK will formally launch its new space agency on Tuesday. The new UK Space Agency (UKSA) will take over responsibility for government policy and the key budgets for space, according to ministers.
The nation has been alone among the major industrialised nations in not having an executive body to direct its activities beyond the Earth's surface. The agency, which comes into being on 1 April, will also represent Britain on space matters in all negotiations with international partners.
The new organisation is expected to take control of the money spent on space by government departments and science funding agencies. The UKSA's name, logo and remit were announced at a conference in London.
It will also represent the UK in all its dealings with international partners. Its establishment should bring more coherence to space policy - something critics say has been missing for years.
Britain currently puts about £270m a year into civil space endeavours, most of it via the UK's membership of the European Space Agency (Esa). In particular, it is hoped an executive agency that can champion British interests abroad will help an already successful space industry to grow still further.
This is not expected to change dramatically with the creation of an executive agency, especially with the government committed to cutting the public deficit. "The action we're taking today shows that we're really serious about space," said Lord Drayson, the minister for science and innovation.
The hope, however, is that the reorganisation will bring more coherence to space policy, enabling the available monies to be spent more effectively. "The UK Space Agency will give the sector the muscle it needs to fulfil its ambition. Britain's space industry has defied the recession. It can grow to £40bn a year and create 100,000 jobs in 20 years. The government's commitments on space will help the sector go from strength to strength."
In tandem with the establishment of the agency, the government will also give its response to a major report produced last month on the future of the UK space industry. British space policy and budgets have until now been devolved to a partnership of government departments and science funding councils. The UKSA will, step by step, assume control of these partners' monies and their management functions.
The sector has been very successful, growing at an average of 9% a year even through the recession. It currently generates revenues in excess of £6bn per annum. Ministers want more information on EO and satellite broadband
It will start in the areas related to Britain's membership of the European Space Agency (Esa), where most of the civil space budget is spent.
It will then extend to areas overseen by the EU, which has begun in recent years to develop major space projects of its own, such as the Galileo satellite-navigation system.
In addition to the UKSA announcement, the government says £24m will be put into an International Space Innovation Centre (ISIC) at Harwell in Oxfordshire, the site of a new Esa technical facility. This is in addition to £16m from industry.
Ministers say the ISIC will help establish hubs of excellence in the UK to:
• exploit the data generated by Earth Observation satellites, • use space data to understand and counter climate change and • advise on the security and resilience of space systems and services.
The announcements are part of the government's response to a major report produced last month by industry and academia on the future prospects for Britain in space.
The Space Innovation and Growth Strategy (Space-IGS) laid out a path it believed could take the UK from a position where it currently claims 6% of the global market in space products and services to 10%, by 2030, creating 100,000 new hi-tech jobs in the process.
Astronaut Tim Peake on the UK's new space agencyAstronaut Tim Peake on the UK's new space agency
The Space Innovation and Growth Strategy was prepared jointly by industry, academia and Whitehall officials. It set out a series of recommendations to grow the sector still further over the next 20 years. The government says it agrees with most of the Space-IGS recommendations, including developing a National Space Technology Strategy.
Among its recommendations was a call to government and industry itself to raise substantially their levels of investment in the coming decade. One key area of dissent however is the call to double UK spending on Esa programmes over the next decade. The Space-IGS wanted Britain to try to initiate and lead at least three missions between now and 2030.
The IGS also wanted the government to back a National Space Technology Strategy and to investigate the idea of an indigenous Earth observation service. Ministers say they cannot make such commitments in the current economic climate.
The BBC understands the latter proposal at least will get a study to determine its feasibility. "We will require a compelling business case for each proposal or mission," said Lord Drayson.
The government says it also wants more information from industry on how satellite broadband services could be expanded, and on the feasibility of establishing a UK-based Earth observation (EO) programme.
At the moment, the UK buys Earth imagery taken by foreign spacecraft. The Space-IGS said there was a case for the UK to have its own EO fleet.
The creation of a space agency is just the latest in a series of initiatives affecting British space interests.The creation of a space agency is just the latest in a series of initiatives affecting British space interests.
In July last year, Esa finally opened a technical centre in Britain - the only one of its senior members not to have such a showcase facility. It also appointed a British national, Major Tim Peake, to its astronaut corps in May. In July last year, Esa finally opened a technical centre in Britain - the only one of the agency's senior members not to have such a showcase facility. It also appointed a British national, Major Tim Peake, to its astronaut corps in May.
Jonathan.Amos-INTERNET@bbc.co.ukJonathan.Amos-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk