Its relationship with ESA will not change

Dec 11, 2009 09:47 GMT  ·  By
The UK/ESA relationship will not deteriorate following the creation of the new space agency, experts hope
   The UK/ESA relationship will not deteriorate following the creation of the new space agency, experts hope

Policymakers in the United Kingdom have finally decided to create a dedicated space agency for the country, after the national scientific community has been pressing for this for many years. In addition to playing a vital role in creating and managing the nation's space policies, the new agency, which is expected to also have its own budget, will represent the country in all matters pertaining to space exploration and international partnerships on the issue, plans have it. The announcements were recently made by Science Minister Lord Drayson, the BBC News reports.

Drayson said that the new decision was taken after a 12-week consultation period, which he monitored. Representatives from the industry, the academia, and from a number of governmental departments participated in the talks, which finally came to the conclusion that the UK needed its own space agency. For some reason, officials were unconvinced of that before. A part in this might have been played by the fact that the nation had refused to engage in manned space exploration, and was content with managing its robotic missions, analysts say.

One of the factors that drove the change in view was the fact that the aerospace industry was starting to become a large contributor to the annual budget of the UK. On average, more than £6.5 billion ($10.6 billion) in revenues go to the country's coffers, experts say. At this point, the UK contributes an annual sum of about £270 million on space exploration. A large part of the money is spent indirectly, via the country's contribution to the European Space Agency (ESA). Officials also mentioned that, following the creation of the new space agency, the nation's relationship with ESA would not suffer at all.

“We have a real success story in our space research and space industry, and we need to make sure we make the most of it. Having a central agency allows us to much more effectively develop the policy that will build on this fantastic asset. People will notice a much higher profile for space. It follows things that have happened this year, such as the appointment of the first British astronaut, the launches we have seen [of the Herschel and Planck telescopes]; and it will enable us to speed up great ideas like for example Virgin Galactic looking to put a launch site here in Britain,” Lord Drayson told the British news agency.

“I think it's important when designing how this agency will work that we take the strengths from the current system and build on them. The space science program I'm responsible for has been hugely successful, and we need to make sure it stays that way. But we can do that; it is something we can design into this agency from the outset,” the leader of the Science and Technology Facilities Council, Professor Keith Mason, concluded.