Trade organisation A|D|S has yesterday welcomed the publication of the ‘National Space Technology Strategy for the UK’ report by the Space Leadership Council.
Made up of industry, academia and Government, the Space Leadership Council provides strategic advice to the new UK Space Agency, launched on 1 April 2011. The Technology Strategy published yesterday builds on the February 2010 Space Innovation and Growth Strategy that identified a way forward to maintain growth in the sector.
Graham Chisnall, managing director of AeroSpace and Operations at A|D|S, said: “The UK space sector today is a £7 billion a year sector supporting around 70,000 jobs. It has demonstrated its strong position for future growth by expanding at nine per cent per year even during the recession. The Strategy forms part of the plan that the country has in place for further growth between now and 2050 that should deliver an additional 100,000 jobs from a sector moving towards a £40 billion per year contribution to the UK economy.”
Welcoming the report as a crucial part of the growth strategy and the collaborative approach behind it to unite Government, industry and academia, Chisnall added: “This partnership will be crucial to ensure the long-term success of the industry. The support of David Willetts as the Minister responsible for this area has been crucial to sustaining the momentum of this work and congratulations go to the Space Leadership Council, the Technology Strategy Board and the Aerospace and Defence Knowledge Transfer Network for their efforts in producing this important report.”
A|D|S published its “Priorities for Government” for the space sector that examined what the sector could deliver with Government support.
