National Space Partnership created to support the UK’s National Space Strategy
In response to the National Space Strategy published in September 2021 by the UK Government, the UK space sector has established the National Space Partnership (NSP) as an independent body to help support the strategy moving forward.
The NSP is a progression of the Space Growth Partnership (SGP) and former Innovation Growth Strategy (IGS). The IGS was created in 2010 between government, academia and industry, to position the UK as a leading space nation with an ambition to gain 10% of the global space economy by 2030.
The NSP sits neutrally across the space sector and is responsible for coordinating new space activities and mediating sector interests to ensure benefit to the sector throughout the UK. Led by Director Ruth Mallors-Ray, with support from a team of sector experts, the NSP is governed by an Interim Steering Group. This includes representatives from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), UK Space Agency, Satellite Applications Catapult, UKspace trade association and the Space Academic Network, who collectively provide guidance and expert advice on the direction and focus of the Partnership’s activities.
Ruth Mallors-Ray said: “The UK’s National Space Strategy has laid out an ambitious vision for UK space sector, bringing together both the civil and defence space sectors for the first time. To realise this vision, the NSP will work collaboratively with industry, academia and government bodies to enable, support and activate the space strategy. We will achieve this using the Ten Point Plan as a focus of endeavour, which will help us move the UK towards being a modern space power, maximising UK strengths, identifying our high growth areas and supporting emerging opportunities. The UK space sector is already a success story and we seek to build on this and position the UK as one of the most innovative and attractive space economies in the world.”
The NSP has organised a series of webinars during March 2022 to communicate its aims and plans to move forward over the coming months. Find out more about the webinar dates and timings.