One small step for err... Swindon!
North Star to be the home of the UK Space Agency
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Lift-off:
the UK space industry
supports 68,000 jobs
in the UK directly and
indirectly, and contributes
£6bn to the economy |
If this story had come out on its official launch date - 01 April - no-one would have believed it.
But, yes, Trekkie fans, Swindon is now the official home of the UK Space Agency.
An announcement today by Business Secretary Lord Mandelson confirmed that Great Britain's space exploration programme would be based and co-ordinated from offices at North Star.
The new agency will have a budget of £230 million a year, albeit just a 50th of what the Americans are currently spending on space research.
The target?
When asked what could be achieved by the next century, Science and Innovation Minister Lord Drayson said: “I’d certainly like to see human beings living on Mars. That should be doable technically over that period."
Research Councils
