Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
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UK Celebrates World Space Week
Rocket scientists have headed down to Earth and back to school as part of World Space Week - the largest annual public space event on the planet.
World Space Week celebrates the contributions of space science and technology to human society and involves all the world’s space-faring nations.
The UK space sector is second only to the United States in space science, supporting 68,000 jobs and contributing £6.5billion to the economy.
UK science and engineering expertise features in over 40 operational missions – from Herschel, the largest space telescope ever built – to Galileo, Europe’s first satellite navigation system. World Space Week is also an opportunity to celebrate this UK success story.
Science and Innovation Minister, Lord Drayson said:
"The UK excels in space research, leads the world in developing space-based technologies and delivers down-to-earth benefits for millions of people. Today we have sat-nav to tell us where we are, but we also have the complex data monitoring and modelling of climate change to help us predict where we will be in the future. That is why we continue to support and invest in space research."
Schools, businesses, clubs and academic institutions across the UK are taking part in World Space Week, celebrating space with a range of events, including exhibitions, schools visits, teacher-training workshops and lectures.
World Space Week will be followed by space-related events during the half-term holiday, including activities at the National Space Centre in Leicester to highlight all the different nations involved in space missions. ‘It’s Not Just NASA’ will demonstrate thecollaboration that created the International Space Station, as well as missions from India, China, Japan, Russia and Europe.
Notes to Editors
World Space Week runs from October 4 – 10 and is celebrated by over 60 nations. It was set up by the United Nations General Assembly in 1999 to celebrate ‘the contributions of space science and technology to the betterment of the human condition’. The week is coordinated by the UN with the support of the World Space Week Association. Details on UK events can be found at www.worldspaceweek.org. More information on the role the UK plays in global space activities is available on the British National Space Centre (BNSC) website www.bnsc.gov.uk World Space Week is timed to mark the anniversary of the launch of the first human-made Earth satellite, Sputnik 1, in 1957. It ends on the anniversary of the 1967 signing of the ‘Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies’. The BNSC is a cross governmental organisation that co-ordinates UK civil space activities and brings together representatives from Government, science, industry and education to promote advances in space technology and science. BNSC also supports efforts to use space within the teaching of maths, engineering and science to inspire young people.
Department for Business, Innovation & Skills
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) is building a dynamic and competitive UK economy by: creating the conditions for business success; promoting innovation, enterprise and science; and giving everyone the skills and opportunities to succeed. To achieve this it will foster world-class universities and promote an open global economy. BIS - Investing in our future.
Contacts:
BIS Press Office
NDS.BIS@coi.gsi.gov.uk
Una Flynn
Phone: 020 7215 5256
Una.Flynn@bis.gsi.gov.uk
