Every two years, the UK Space Conference is being held in diverse cities in the United Kingdom. Even though the event was organized at the Charterhouse School in Surrey until 2010, after that year, the location was different for every upcoming congress. In 2015, the UK Space Conference brought a myriad of individuals together in Liverpool.
What Is the UK Space Conference?
The UK Space Conference is a congress that occurs every two years in the United Kingdom. Its aim is to gather as many people as possible interested in the development of the space industry in the country. Both veterans and students are welcome to attend the meeting. Since 2010, the event is being organized in different UK cities.
For instance, in 2011, the University of Warwick in Coventry was the conference’s location. Two years later, hundreds of individuals attended the convention at the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre in Glasgow. In 2015, it was announced that the biennial UK Space Conference will take place in Liverpool, at the Arena and Convention Centre. The space-devoted meeting has become a host for the Sir Arthur Clarke award-giving ceremony.
Usually, a large number of individuals are welcomed to join the congress every two years. The UK Space association has the opportunity to discuss the crucial matters and to inform multitudinous individuals about upcoming developments, possible improvements, necessary changes, and so on. Each conference gives professionals the opportunity to share ideas on various topics, including space exploration and rocketry. In fact, the UK Space Conference originated from the British Oral History Programme or BROHP.
British Rocketry Oral History Programme
The organization called British Rocketry Oral History Programme was founded for the purpose of collecting data about those who have spent a fair amount of time working in the British Rocketry Programmes between 1950 and 1960. In 1998, however, the organization developed even more by organizing the very first UK Space Conference.
The spectacular event was held in March at Charterhouse School in Surrey. Hundreds of individuals gathered together to discuss various topics. The list of guests was incredibly long, and most of the organizers were academics, researchers, or people working on different projects. Then, it was decided that the congress will be held every two years in the United Kingdom.
Sir Arthur Clarke Award
The British Sir Arthur Clarke Award is given every year in appreciation of contributions related to the space industry. The very first award was handed out in 2005, and ever since the very beginning, the awards are presented by the Arthur C. Clarke Foundation. Nevertheless, the selection is authorized by the British Interplanetary Society.
As some of you probably know, this is the oldest and largest space advocacy organization, which was founded back in 1933 in Liverpool. The non-profit organization is supporting space exploration, which is the process of examining outer space using space or astronomy technology. The British Interplanetary Society has published a number of studies, and currently, it publishes the magazine Spaceflight and the journal Journal of the British Interplanetary Society.
The first award-giving event was held at the UK Space Conference, which back in the days was still known as British Rocketry Oral History Programme. Until 2010, the Congress was organized annually, and the Sir Arthur Clarke Award trophies were handed out there. Although the UK Space Conference now happens every other year, it is still a host for the ceremony.
The grandiose event is deeply respected by the International Space community, and people are always incredibly flattered when given a particular award. The ceremony is similar to the Oscars in the way that there are many categories, and a number of trophies are handed out to a number of guests. Some of the most prestigious nominations are as follows:
- Space Achievement – Industry/Project Team
- Space Achievement – Media, Broadcast, and Written
- International Achievement
- Space Achievement – International Study/Research
- Lifetime Space Achievement
- Space Achievement – Education and Outreach
- Exceptional Space Achievement
UK Space Conference 2015
UK Space Conference 2015 was one of the biennial meetings held in the United Kingdom. The networking event, again, managed to attract a myriad of people proficient in the field of space exploration and astronautics. Like any other year, in 2015, the congress was organized with the main aim to deliver crucial information and to achieve coherence between the space industry and government.
It’s said that this was one of the biggest conferences ever held. The number of guests was spectacular, outnumbering 800. According to the listing, more than 700 delegates were registered, along with 90+ exhibitors. In the 2015-event, one of the majorly discussed topics was the potential growth of the UK Space industry.
Like any other time, the organizers standing behind the event in 2015 wanted to point out the importance of further developed technology. One way to achieve this was via a special web app developed exclusively for the UK Space Conference 2015. It was created to help individuals to get familiar with the area, and to provide them with further information regarding different topics.
To support their statements with facts, speakers relied on various podcasts, presentations, video footages, photos, and so on. The large event venue where the meeting was organized was big enough to welcome hundreds of visitors not only from the UK but from other parts of the world, as well.
Time and Place of the Event
The UK Space Conference 2015 was held on July 14th and 15th at the Arena and Convention Centre in Liverpool. That is one of the most prominent and preferred conferences and event venues in the city. The event campus is huge enough to become home to various ceremonies, conferences, events, and exhibitions.
Space-Enabled Futures
In 2015, the theme of the conference was Space-Enabled Futures. The main topics that were discussed were related to the satellite services and their impact and innovation. Additionally, speakers at the congress further elaborated on the effect the space industry has on the economy, education, and society as a whole.
The greatly formed program covered many other subjects, as well, and guests were presented with interesting facts with all necessary documentations. A number of sessions were organized, and all of them were devoted to various questions. People were informed about themes related to technology, research, biomedicine, numerous innovations and potential developments, and space atmosphere.
As mentioned, some of the most crucial themes discussed at the conference were oriented towards the future development and growth of the UK Space industry. Attendants proposed numerous ways that could increase economic and social progress in the upcoming years. As Greg Clark stated, the UK space community is focused on “achieving an ambitious 20-year target of capturing 10 percent of the projected £400 billion global space market by 2030”. He said that the conference is a wonderful opportunity for anyone to take part in the achievement of this goal.
UK Space Association: Committees
The UK Space Conference consists of several committees each one oriented towards a specific field. The different teams focus on various matters related to space technology, research, development of technology, and so on. In the succeeding paragraph, we’ll deliver more extensive information about each of the UK Space Conference committees.
Space Science and Exploration Committee
The Space Science and Exploration Committee deals with matters related to International and National Space Science programs. Additionally, they focus their attention on the Human and Robotics Exploration of the Solar System. The group partners with the UK Space Agency in order to discover the most informative and factual answers to a number of questions.
The main topics of discussion are The European Space Agency Mandatory Space Science Programme and The European Space Agency Exploration Programmes. The latter is concerned with the studies and examination of the Moon and Mars. In addition, the Exploration Programmes look deep into topics related to microgravity science and the International Space Station.
For those of you, who don’t know, the modular International Space Station is an immense project in which several highly prominent agencies participate, namely NASA, ESA, CSA, JAXA, and Roscosmos. The main goal of this station is, of course, research. It is used as a space laboratory where various surveys are being conducted. The subjects of exploration are associated with physics, astronomy, astrobiology, and so on.
The European Space Agency Mandatory Space Science Programme, on the other hand, is concerned with all science missions with the exception of Earth Observation. The program has adopted a unique approach that has helped it achieve numerous successes. It wishes to explore Space as much as possible, and hopefully, soon it will manage to deliver extensive data about other planets, as well.
Earth Observation Committee
Another committee consisting of UK Space members is the Earth Observation one. The chairman of the committee is Tom Craig, and the vice chairwoman is Chandra Taposeea-Fisher. The group gets together several times a year to closely observe things related to Earth Observation. As you probably know, the latter refers to the process of collecting and analyzing information about the physical, biological, and chemical systems of the Earth. That is performed with the help of special remote technologies using sensors.
The committee does its best to inspect every little detail and often gets in contact with other companies and agencies, such as the UK Met Office, the UK Space Agency, and the Satellite Applications Catapult. The group discusses future developments in the Earth Observation fields, such as satellites, sensors, radars, etc. Additionally, the committee focuses its attention on many other topics, as well.
Position, Navigation and Timing Committee
The Position, Navigation and Timing Committee focuses mainly on policy and regulatory matters. The issues are in association with the current and future PNT roadmap. The same group is also in charge of reviewing of possible improvements in the infrastructure sector. Additionally, team members also explore various services and applications supported by technologies that are local-based.
Security and Defense Committee
The Security and Defense Committee keeps track of all security-related questions in the field. It has established stable connections with the Ministry of Defense and other prominent organizations. The chairman of the committee is Simon Walker, who is part of one of the largest space logistics companies, namely D-Orbit.
Satellite Telecommunications Committee
As the name of the team suggests, Satellite Telecommunications Committee deals with everything in relation to communication satellites. As some of you know, artificial satellites send signals via a transponder. Thanks to the chain of interconnected units, it is possible to create a communication channel. This way, a transmitter, producing radio waves and a particular receiver on Earth exchange signals. The Satellite Telecommunications Committee partners with the techUK Communications and Policy Council. They conduct all kinds of research in association with satellite telecoms.
UK Space Association: Achievements and Further Development
The UK Space industry is developing more every single day. As previously stated, the UK Space Conference in 2015 was the starting point for the announcement of the potential success the UK Space community can achieve. Today, the main goal consists of increasing the UK Space industry’s revenue to the impressive £40 billion by the year of 2030. Currently, it equals £14.8 billion.
What’s more, the association partners with various agencies to complete another ambition, namely to make the United Kingdom a global participant in the new space economy. The UK Space association has partnered with numerous companies and associations in an attempt to create the Space Growth Partnership. That is a partnership that joins institutions, companies, and entrepreneurs dealing with space-related matters. Their mission is to encourage the future growth of the UK space sector by working with the Government.
Additionally, the UK Space community has created multitudinous funding programs for R&D and has created the Satellite Applications Catapult, which is a leading technology company. The association has also invested quite a lot in the European Space Agency – an organization consisting of 22 individuals devoted to the exploration of space.
UK Space Agency
The UK Space Agency is, without a doubt, one of the most prominent agencies when it comes to space-related questions. It is an executive agency of the UK Government, which was founded in 2010. Its headquarters are in Swindon, Wiltshire, and its chief executive officer is the British physicist Graham Turnock.
The responsibility for the United Kingdom space program used to fall on the British National Space Centre. It was formed in 1985, but in 2010 it got replaced by the UK Space Agency, which took on all its duties. In addition, the agency was also given the task of dealing with everything related to the European Space Agency subscriptions from the National Environment Research Centre.
UK Space: Levels of Operation
The UK Space association has separated the different duties between several people and teams. The levels of operation include President UK Space, Chair UK Space, UK Space Executive, UK Space Council, and Sector Committees. Each authority deals with various matters. For instance, the President represents the association at the highest levels of the government.
The UK Space Executive is a team consisting of the Chairman, the Vice-Chairman, and all other committee chairmen. The Chairman of the UK Space usually holds the office for no more than two years and is chosen by the Council Members. The UK Space Council is responsible for the conduction of all operations.
The team meets twice a month to discuss potential improvements and to analyze the previously undertaken activities. They observe and review the work of the different teams and propose resolutions to various issues. And last but not least – the sector committees. These groupings are carefully formed to complete all kinds of tasks on time and in the most efficient way. Here is a complete list of all UK Space committees:
- Earth Observation Committee
- Satellite Telecommunications Committee
- Security and Defense Committee
- Media Advisory Group
- Position, Navigation and Timing Committee
- Space Science and Exploration Committee
- UK Space Launch Committee
- Trade and Exports Group
- SME Committee
- Parliamentary Advisory Group
- Launch UK Industry Group
- In Orbit Services
- Regulatory Advisory Group
UK Space: Management Team
The management team of the UK Space association consists of several members who are entirely devoted to exploring everything related to space. What’s more, they work intensively to deliver the best services, to research as much as possible, and to grow and improve the space industry in every possible way. Below, you can find more information about the three key members of the UK Space.
Will Whitehorn
Will Whitehorn is a business executive born in 1960 in Edinburgh, Scotland. Before becoming the UK Space President in 2019, Whitehorn had a few different jobs. He used to be a crewman on North Sea helicopters, and in 1987 he became part of the Virgin Group, which is a multi-industry British company. Not long after, he became head of the company’s public affairs department.
Later, he was crowned to be the president of Virgin Galactic, which is Virgin Group’s space program. Due to particular events, however, Will left his then-current position. In the following years, he joined a few more organizations. At present, he is a non-executive director of the Royal Air Force, Good Energy PLC, and more.
Nick Shave
In 2020, Nick Shave became the Chairman of the UK Space association. He took the role of Graham Peters and will remain the chairman until 2022. Shave is also a vice president for the Strategic Programmes at Inmarsat, which is a UK satellite telecommunications company. Nick also takes part in the Global Government business unit team. He has a career of over 25 years entirely dedicated to space exploration.
He has participated in a number of investigations and has conducted numerous surveys and analyses. At present times, he is also a co-chairman of the National Cyber Security Centre Space Information Exchange. When he was chosen to take this role in the UK Space association, he stated that he is positive the UK will become the strongest modern space power.
John Hanley
The last key member of the UK Space association we’ll focus our attention on is John Hanley. He is the vice-chairman of the association, and he’s also a Senior Vice President for the CGI, and more precisely, for the Secure and Assured Space Solution area. His main goal is to establish as many new connections as possible that will contribute to the growth of the space industry in the United Kingdom.