›Developing the UK's Civil Space Strategy - Investment, barriers to growth and inspiring the next generation

In the context of the launch of the UK’s first publicly-funded astronaut and the release of Government’s National Space Policy in December, this forum is timed to follow the publication of the House of Commons Science and Technology Select Committee Satellites and Space inquiry, and to coincide with Major Tim Peake’s return to earth.

This event aims to inform the Government’s new UK Civil Space Strategy, expected this year, and will discuss the outcomes and recommendations from the committee’s inquiry as well as assess progress made since the previous Space Strategy and the Government’s investment in the sector since it was made one of the ‘8 Great Technologies’ in 2013.

Sessions will discuss the importance of space for the UK’s economy, and how advances in research and technology can be exploited to improve a variety of services from disaster relief to communications. It will also look at some of the key issues facing the sector, including where the funding for satellite capabilities should be focussed and how to attract further investment in space technology as well as how the UK can better benefit from EU involvement.

Delegates will also discuss the UK’s current regulatory environment and its impact on growth in the satellite sector, and how this might affect the attraction of new starts ups to the UK as well as some of the challenges facing industry in developing and implementing new space and satellite technologies, including the lack of a UK-based launch port, and options for this.