UK astronauts under review

The UK government will review its opposition to British astronauts in space

Thursday, 14, Feb 2008 12:00

The government may reverse a decision against training British astronauts for manned space missions, it has announced.

A review of the 1986 decision not to send Britons into space will examine the costs and benefits of UK astronauts in economic, scientific and technological terms.

It will also consider Britain's current strength in robotic exploration, where most of the UK's space budget is currently concentrated.

The UK Civil Space Strategy: 2008-12 and Beyond, published today, also outlines plans to establish a new national space technology programme and an "international space facility" in Oxfordshire.

It will hope to draw the UK's efforts closer into international initiatives on the future of space exploration and will maintain existing involvement in Earth observation and telecoms and space science developments.

Science and innovation minister Ian Pearson said: "These coming decades promise to be even more exciting than the last. The government is determined that the UK remains at the forefront of the evolving space scene.

"I look forward to working with all sides of the space community in delivering our exciting vision."

Doubts have been expressed about whether the UK should train astronauts amid concerns the venture may prove overly expensive.

Professor Andrew Coates of University College London told the Today programme that, while inspirational, manned exploration could not take place under the UK's current space budget.

"Man does play a part in doing experiments perhaps on the surface on the moon or Mars but it is expensive and we have to bear that in mind," he said.

"Unmanned exploration is one of our big strengths. This is the sort of thing we do very well."

The British space sector currently contributes £7 billion to the UK economy, the government says.