Is the UK aiming for the stars - or going for re-entry?

A national space policy could catapult Britain to the forefront of the space sector and create thousands of jobs – and a turnover of £40 billion a year – according to a joint report prepared by industry, government and academia.

The Space Innovation and Growth Team (IGT) – tasked with identifying future innovation, technology and investment priorities – suggest a coordinated space program across government and the establishment of a national space agency to position the UK for future success.

However in a contradictory move, the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) announced that the UK would be withdrawing from NASA’s flagship mission Cassini – severely damaging British astronomy.

Michele Dougherty, Professor in the Department of Physics at Imperial College, and scientist on the Cassini mission told Laboratory News: “I’m astonished that a national space agency has been announced, especially at a time when we are letting down NASA in their flagship project.”

The STFC aims to save £42m over five years through a managed withdrawal from Cassini and other space missions, calling the cuts “necessary but unpalatable”. The cuts also threaten Britain’s involvement in future missions such as the Europa Jupiter Saturn Mission planed for 2020.

In a letter to The Times, eight Cassini scientists said the withdrawal – which would save about £700,000 a year – would severely damage British astronomy and see scientists cut off from the instruments they have invested much of their career in developing.

UK space agency?

The Space Innovation Growth Strategy (IGS) want R&D spending within industry to increase by £5bn and for the government to double its annual civil space budget to £550m over the next 10 years.

“We’re not actually asking government for a massive increase in spending; this would not take us anywhere near the top of the table in terms of what other countries spend,” said Andy Green, chairman of the Space IGT, “we’ve been quite modest in that respect.”

Green said that this move – if done well and smartly – would provide an opportunity to create wealth, jobs and taxes which would pay back the investment generously.

If the recommendations are followed, the domestic space industry could have a 10% share of the worldwide market, worth £400bn per year by 2030. In order to achieve this, the report suggests taking advantage of the Private Finance Initiate (PFI), which would see the City provide funding and the government agreeing to be the prime customer.

“If we are going to succeed it’s got to be through partnerships – so working with academia, with government, making clever procurement, and an industry willing to invest and take some risks,” said Richard Packham, chairman of UKSpace – an umbrella group representing the British industrial space sector and member of the Space IGT

The study also warns that the government, the City and industry must invest more in space to ensure Britain remains competitive.

British involvement?

American space agency NASA has extended the Cassini mission to study Saturn and its moons until 2017, but they will have to do so without British involvement. “This has important implications for future missions,” Professor Dougherty told Laboratory News. “Why would anyone want to be involved in missions with the UK if they let their partners down?” She also believes the UK could lose a generation of younger scientists as funding cuts drive them away from the industry.

Cassini’s second extension – the Cassini Solstice Mission – will enable scientists to study seasonal and other long-term weather changes on Saturn and its moons, something which has never been studied before. The extension will mean 155 additional orbits of the planet, 54 flybys of Titan and 11 flybys of Enceladus.

“The extension presents a unique opportunity to follow seasonal changes of a planet system all the way from its winter to its summer,” said Bob Pappalardo, Cassini project scientist with Nasa, “Some of Cassini’s most exciting discoveries still lie ahead.”

The extension will also allow scientists to continue observations of Saturn’s rings and the magnetosphere –the magnet bubble around the planet. Cassini’s instruments have been streaming data daily for nearly six years: discoveries include ice volcanoes and evidence of liquid water on Encleadus.

Speaking about the lack of British involvement in the Cassini mission, Packham said: “If the UK Government accepts our recommendations we hope it will give more impetus to STFC and the new UKESA to fund more programmes that offer the greatest economic and social advantage to the UK and offer the best value for money.  It would be wrong of the IGT to comment on specific decisions of STFC."