UK executive space agency launched
1 min read
Today sees an event at the QEII Conference Centre to mark the launch of the new UK Executive Space Agency and the publication of the Government response to the Space Innovation Growth Strategy. Lords Mandelson and Grayson will be speaking.
The IGS report recommended that the number of space apprenticeships in the UK be doubled.
The new organisation is expected to take control of the money spent on space by government departments and science funding activities. It will also represent the UK in dealings with international partners.
A company in Leicestershire has already recruited its first Space Academy Apprentices. Magna Parva specialises in engineering for extreme environments such as space, defence and aerospace, and has taken on two young people to work on projects such as the Life Marker Chip (LMC) instrument developed in collaboration with the University of Leicester, and intended to form part of the Aurora Exomars mission. The LMC instrument is the only one designed to detect signs of extant or extinct life on Mars.
Josh Thompson (pictured) was the first Apprentice to be appointed and will be working on projects such as MIXS Optics designed for use on the Bepi Colombo mission to the planet Mercury due for launch in 2013.
Andrew Bowyer, Director at Magna Parva said: "We hear much about the importance of leading edge engineering to the UK economy, yet much undiscovered talent lies unused, especially among young people who have chosen not to follow an academic route."
