The UK Opens Own Space Agency

The organization will have important prerogatives Officials in the United Kingdom have finally realized the importance of having a dedicated space agency. They announced that the nation's own organization, the UK Space Agency (UKSA), will be inaugurated on April 1. Some of its most important functions will include elaborating and taking responsibility for governmental policy efforts, handling key budget features, and also representing the country in all talks with international partners, such as NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA).


The decision has been a long time coming, considering that the agency's predecessor, the British National Space Center (BNSC), had only reduced power of decision and prerogatives. The name, logo and remit of the new organization were presented to officials and the media at a conference recently held in the English capital London. “The action we're taking today shows that we're really serious about space. 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,” explained Lord Drayson, who is the UK minister for science and innovation.

One of the additional reasons for why the UKSA was founded is for promoting the already rapid growth of the British-based space industry. And while authorities have for a long time said that they prefer to keep their interests aimed at robotic space exploration – rather than on manned missions – there is a lot of money to be made in this field. There is also the issue of prestige, which the BNSC enjoys already, but only to a limited extent. With the UKSA in place, the United Kingdom will be able to engage in discussions with ESA for example in a new manner.

The government also announced the creation of the International Space Innovation Center (ISIC), which will be opened at the site of a new ESA technical facility, in Harwell, Oxfordshire. The new organization will be funded with an initial 24-million-pound investment, which will be supported by an additional £16 million from the country's space industry. The purpose of the ISIC will be to develop itself into a new hub of scientific excellence in the UK, and eventually create 100,000 high-tech, space-related jobs in the process, by 2030. This will be achieved under the newly-adopted Space Innovation and Growth Strategy (Space-IGS), the BBC News reports.