UK space companies have defied the recession, growing by an average of 10% a year from 2007. So says a report from the Oxford Economics consultancy, which predicts the growth will continue in 2010. The space business is now said to have a turnover worth some £7.5bn, with employment rising at about 15% a year. Read more
The new science minister David Willetts says space is an important growth sector for the UK economy and he intends to do all he can to support it. Read more
Britain needs its own space programme because the country's security and economy is increasingly dependent on foreign satellites, a report claims. About 90% of the UK's national security and disaster protection systems are supported from space, according to UKspace trade association. The Space Secures Prosperity report called on the Government to review its reliance on overseas satellite information.
The UK's decision to shun human spaceflight was a mistake that needs to be changed, says Europe's International Space Station programme chief. But with Nasa on the verge of ending its shuttle programme and the Russian Soyuz capsules overbooked, it will not be easy to reverse course, warns Alan Thirkettle, a Brit who left the country to head European Space Agency (Esa) projects.