This week, both the French and the British government announced measures to continue supporting the space industry in order to help preserve their competitiveness.
On 23 March, the French Ministry of National Education, Advanced Instruction and Research…
This week, both the French and the British government announced measures to continue supporting the space industry in order to help preserve their competitiveness.
On 23 March, the French Ministry of National Education, Advanced Instruction and Research announced that E500m would be invested in four satellite and launch vehicle projects.
In mid-December 2010, French president Nicolas Sarkozy had already said that the country would spend E250m to help build a new launcher, Ariane 6, by 2025 in order to help maintain Europe’s autonomous access to space.
Of the E250m, E82.5m has already been granted for studies on the new rocket. Another E167m, or so, has yet to be allocated.
As for the satellite projects, the ministry has allotted E252.5m split between the Franco-American Surface Water Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite (which will receive E170m), the Myriade small-satellite platforms (E40m), and the “Satellites du Futur” project for the development of platforms for geostationary satellites (E42.5m).
Also on 23 March, during the country’s 2011 Budget, the UK government announced its renewed focus on the space industry. It notably proposed amending its Outer Space Act to remove an unlimited liability on operators.
This, according to satellite operator Inmarsat, will encourage more space companies to be based in the UK.
The government hopes that such measures will help the UK capture 10% of the US$400bn global space industry by 2030. Currently, the UK space sector is growing at more than 10% per year, with an annual turnover of £7.5bn.
