UK Space Agency

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earth_bound_misfit

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You must be pretty excited, you kept clicking the submit button :)
I read they are going to model it on NASA, then reading on, they say they have no money for it. Well they will have to find some money because NASA and this space exploration business don't come cheap.

Now if the Commonwealth all pitched in...........
 
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dreada5

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LOL

Yeah well thanks to the conservative party, brits have been kept out of space for quite some time. But there's far too much happening around the world and even within UK industry for the government to continue turning a blind eye. After all they had a royal air force pilot recently go off to ESA to sign up as an astronaut, richard branson expressing disappointment that UK wasn't more proactive in support virgin galactic, industry complaining that its missing out big ESA contracts because there's no leadership from the top, not to mention a raft of public opinion that says that the UK is getting left behind. So its about time!

Hopefully the funding will come later and hopefully this opens a number of possibilities now such as UK involvement in ISS, ESA's manned ATV etc etc. :)
 
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missionunknown

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Well as a Brit. this is very exciting, for too long has britain taken a back seat. With all these programmes the bbc and itv are showing to commemorate the 40 th anniversary of the moon landings it makes one feel sad and dissapointed with the lack of british effort. Obviously britain is no longer a super power but its always remained a leader in many respects esp. science and technology and so with the lack of investment in space its rather odd to be honest.

The lack of no new money is a bit dissapointing but the building of a dedicated ESA facility in oxfordshire is exciting (would've thought cambridgeshire was a better location though) and will hopefully allow innovation and greater future investment and above all inspiration and determination.
 
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flynn

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Wouldn't get too excited, I think it's important that a new agency doesn't leak money into new layers of procedures and complexity. I hope it works and gives a focus to space exploration in the UK. Interesting to see what the BIS make of it all.

As long as a British space agency works with the ESA and NASA and and ultimately does see an increase in funding whilst allowing the strong independant companys that have built themselves up over the years the creative freedom to continue what they are doing.

I'm not entirely sure the lack of space funding can be levelled solely at the tories, have labour done anything massively different? especially considering the relevantly good economic situation the inherited for the first ten years of their government. Besides I'm not sure a manned space program was ever right for this country, we don't have the resources to compete although I would of liked to of seen us support ESA accross the board and not just on "chosen" projects in the early years of the agency. That way we might of seen some more of our projects get serious funding for across europe.
 
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flynn

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missionunknown":2uwckl7d said:
Well as a Brit. this is very exciting, for too long has britain taken a back seat. With all these programmes the bbc and itv are showing to commemorate the 40 th anniversary of the moon landings it makes one feel sad and dissapointed with the lack of british effort. Obviously britain is no longer a super power but its always remained a leader in many respects esp. science and technology and so with the lack of investment in space its rather odd to be honest.

The lack of no new money is a bit dissapointing but the building of a dedicated ESA facility in oxfordshire is exciting (would've thought cambridgeshire was a better location though) and will hopefully allow innovation and greater future investment and above all inspiration and determination.

As an Oxfordian I could disagree more (but that might be the varsity competitive in me)...

Seriously though, Oxfordshire already has the Diamond project, RAL, Culham technolgy park and Harwell.
 
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missionunknown

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flynn":1kiew1gd said:
missionunknown":1kiew1gd said:
Well as a Brit. this is very exciting, for too long has britain taken a back seat. With all these programmes the bbc and itv are showing to commemorate the 40 th anniversary of the moon landings it makes one feel sad and dissapointed with the lack of british effort. Obviously britain is no longer a super power but its always remained a leader in many respects esp. science and technology and so with the lack of investment in space its rather odd to be honest.

The lack of no new money is a bit dissapointing but the building of a dedicated ESA facility in oxfordshire is exciting (would've thought cambridgeshire was a better location though) and will hopefully allow innovation and greater future investment and above all inspiration and determination.

As an Oxfordian I could disagree more (but that might be the varsity competitive in me)...

Seriously though, Oxfordshire already has the Diamond project, RAL, Culham technolgy park and Harwell.

well as a devonian it makes little odds to me, i just thought that oxfordshire area looked crowded had enough going on and that the cambridge area looked good on the map, plus they could launch rockets off the east anglia coast over the sea, if it ever went that far.
 
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dreada5

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Just seen this:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/8158747.stm

Some would consider this to be government delaying things again, but we've made some real advances of late (new space centre at Harwell, new dedicated funding to ESA's astronaut programme, and the on-going industry working group on the way forward for space indutry)... so I'm staying fingers crossed.
 
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missionunknown

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dreada5":14r8jurq said:
Just seen this:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/8158747.stm

Some would consider this to be government delaying things again, but we've made some real advances of late (new space centre at Harwell, new dedicated funding to ESA's astronaut programme, and the on-going industry working group on the way forward for space indutry)... so I'm staying fingers crossed.

uggh, and he point of this is?........Like Drayson says even without extra (proper) funding a dedicated uk space agency can only be good as it allows a more concerted effort, i guess it just takes time for people to wake up to the fact that space is the future, this 12 week consultation will hopefully allow all the doubters to grumble their concerns and be silenced by people who believe in space ventures. A uk space agency would 've most likely helped with getting the moonLITE project up and running and not have that delayed as well. Well i suppose the recession is to blame as well.
 
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Danzi

Guest
To me, this is a step in the right direction. i think a tear may come to my eye the first time a rocket launched from British soil in my life time, carrying British astronaughts etc etc

But more importantly i am hoping if this happens it will make the UK contribute more to other projects such as the ISS and other projects

If there is the ESA, why can the ISA also be set up, (International Space Agency) and its purpose would basically be to get more international project going. I mean, manned space flight would be so much easier if the whole world was contributing. Although i could see arguments unfolding over which nation should have their person on Mars first etc etc Still it would be nice.

But a UK space agency would be great! I want to work in the space industry is possible, if this goes well i might not have to go far to do so.
 
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alpha_centauri

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alpha_centauri

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Still, it's one giant leap for the government........


:roll:
 
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TheEngineerOf_Oz

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earth_bound_misfit":3h6u7r12 said:
I read they are going to model it on NASA, then reading on, they say they have no money for it.

They say they have no money for it? Well I guess they're REALLY modelling it on NASA then!! LOL :lol:
 
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aphh

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A british space agency reminds me of MI6, James Bond, Austin Powers and Basil Exposition. Atleast some cool movie plots should come out of this.

On another note, I think Nordic countries should establish a joint space task force and start pushing for more ambitious space projects, including military space. We have the money and the skills. All we need is politicians who would see the benefit of a Nordic space program, both civilian and military (emphasis on military, like China's space program).

Preferably manned, ofcourse.
 
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ice9

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What did Arthur C Clark say about the lack of a British Space Program?

That a Englishman invented Gravity perhaps an Englishman would invent anti-gravity.

Not an exact quote.
 
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andrew_t1000

Guest
Good for them!
But instead of going it alone, they should get the rest of the Commonwealth involved.
We already have the Woomera launch site here in South Australia.
 
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MarkStanaway

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Australian governments lost the plot on space exploration forty years ago
Despite a lot of pioneering work on rocketry at Woomera and involvement in the ill fated attempt to develop the ELDO space launcher based on Blue Streak in the 1960's no Australian government has had the vision to make a serious commitment to even a minimium space programme since then. They have been content to rely on other countries for weather coverage and buy off the shelf communication satellites. Home grown talent has had to relocate to other countries which have more vision in this area. Our only two astronauts to date became American citizens in order to fulfil their dreams. It is sad that this country which excels in so many other areas including Astronomy has a blind spot when it comes to space exploration. Successive governments have been content to be spectators to the great advances in astronautics of the past forty years. We have the potential to make a commitment to a space programme that could at least be the size of comparable countries like Canada or Sweden.
 
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alpha_centauri

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Yeah, I don't think most people were (honestly) expecting much on the funding side of things just yet, especially in the current financial climate.

The problem has for a long time been the fact that despite UK scientists/engineers being involved in a wide range of space related activity, it's almost entirely invisible. So it may not be earth shattering but at least it's a start and something to focus around/lobby support for.
 
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EarthlingX

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alpha_centauri":1zsfml5u said:
Yeah, I don't think most people were (honestly) expecting much on the funding side of things just yet, especially in the current financial climate.

The problem has for a long time been the fact that despite UK scientists/engineers being involved in a wide range of space related activity, it's almost entirely invisible. So it may not be earth shattering but at least it's a start and something to focus around/lobby support for.
Now they can focus on one agency, i think, and better manage resources. It will, hopefully, also allow better visibility and coordination of efforts. It is a step forward, even without more funding, for which i hope will follow.
 
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