'Muscular' UK Space Agency Launched

From The BBC:

The new UK Space Agency (UKSA) will take over responsibility for government policy and the key budgets for space, according to ministers.

The agency, which comes into being on 1 April, will also represent Britain on space matters in all negotiations with international partners.

The UKSA's name, logo and remit were announced at a conference in London.

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Strategy To Grow UK Space Sector

From The BBC:

The UK space industry can become a much bigger global player, employing thousands more highly skilled workers and turning over perhaps £40bn a year.

The projection is made in a report prepared jointly by industry, government, and academia.

The Space Innovation Growth Strategy identifies key market opportunities - from the delivery of internet services by satellite to space tourism.

The report says greater investment will position the UK for future success.

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Stevenage: The Final Frontier In Space Technology

The rocket and fuel tanks of the Lisa Pathfinder satellite, which will be launched in 2011 and pave the way for new scientific experiments on gravitational wave detection and black holes.

From The Daily Mail:

You might think Nasa is the only pioneer of space technology, but this £200m satellite (below) is being built not in Houston but at a sleepy industrial estate in Hertfordshire.

It's so tantalisingly close, this strange octagonal aluminium box with its shimmery array of circuitry. I see wires coated in silver, connectors of gold, and parts so delicate that even in this temperature-and humidity-controlled, dust-free environment they have to be protected with pink translucent plastic bags.

In two years' time, this box - the inside of a satellite - will be blasted four times further out into space than any human has ever been.

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