The impressive news was detailed during the Government new policy document ‘The Benefits of Brexit’. It explains how the UK “will provide global leadership” in space over the coming years and “work closely with our allies”. To achieve this, the Government will establish “new international space trading arrangements” with several counties.
A deal has already been struck with Australia and India and a “Memorandum of Understanding” with Saudi Arabia.
The UK remains a part of the European Space Agency (ESA), as it is not an EU institute, but it will also lead its own missions including the Solar Orbiter.
The Solar Orbiter (SolO)is a Sun-observing satellite, developed by ESA and NASA.
Built in Stevenage by Airbus, backed by the UK Space Agency and launched in February 2020, Solar Orbiter will provide images of the Sun from inside the orbit of its nearest planet, Mercury, closer than ever before.
Occasionally, the Sun erupts giant amounts of particles known as coronal mass ejections.
When such an eruption slams into Earth’s magnetic field, it generates surges of electrical current which can be dangerous to Earth.
Solar scientists do not have reliable ways to predict such an eruption, until now.
The largest one known to hit Earth was the Carrington event in 1859, named after one of the people who observed an intensely bright spot on the Sun where the eruption occurred.
The surge caused some telegraph wires to catch fire.
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Science Minister George Freeman tweeted: “In the 60 years since Apollo and Sputnik space pioneers have left a massive array of space debris.
“Delighted to welcome His Royal Highness Prince Charles to Harwell Campus to see how the UK’s of £16billion satellite sector is pioneering groundbreaking technologies & services for tackling space debris.
“We will also discuss how the UK can lead in global regulation and standards.”
This year, the UK intends to become the first country in Europe to launch a small satellite into space.
The Government has invested in a number of spaceports across the UK and hopes to be able to launch on the Queen’s Jubilee.
For years, the UK has been a leader in the small satellite market and it plans to continue that legacy.