ARTICLE AD BOX
A UK-built satellite has been blasted into space – and the minister for space says that more is to come.
The satellite, named Biomass and built to keep watch over Earth, was sent into space from French Guiana today.
It will watch the world's forests with a view to understanding their role in the carbon cycle and help deal with climate change.
The mission is being run by the European Space Agency, and it launched from the European spaceport. But it was originally conceived in Sheffield and then built in Stevenage.
And Chris Bryan, the space minister, told The Independent that it is just the next stage in the UK's plans for more space launches – at least some of which are set to happen from the country in the coming years.
Sir Chris pointed to the plans to build a spaceport in Shetland. The UK has a "unique advantage" because it is able to launch over the sea, he said, and the government plans to encourage launches from the islands in the coming years.
But he also noted that space ministers have tended to "come up with a new priority, and we ended up doing trying to do far to many things all at the same time, and that doesn't wash anymore". "We need to focus on the things where we either have a specific advantage that we can capitalise on – such as the ability to launch, or where we have an academic or skills strength that we can really use".
But he said that even as the government conducts its spending review and might move its focus away from some projects, he plans for space to continue to have a central part in the government's work. "Our two strategic aims in relation to space are national security and economic growth; both of those fit slap bang in the middle of Keir Starmer agenda for the government," he said.
"We need to fill it through all our plans to make sure that we're getting good taxpayer bang for our pound," he said. "However, I defy you to live a day without any engagement with space or anything, any app or any part of your life that hasn't been affected by some element of space," he said, pointing to uses such as satellite communications and internet and mapping through GPS.
The Biomass satellite will capture data on changes to carbon in forests, helping understand how they and the world are impacted by deforestation. Generally, tropical forests are not well understood because they are hard to access, but the satellite will be able to look through clouds and accurately measure their biomass.
The mission was proposed by Shaun Quegan, from the University of Sheffield.
"It’s been a privilege to have led the team in the development of a pioneering mission that will revolutionise our understanding of the volume of carbon held in the most impenetrable tropical rainforests on the planet and, crucially, how this is changing over time. Our research has solved critical operational scientific problems in constructing the Biomass satellite," he said.
"Conceived and built in the UK, Biomass is a brilliant example of what we can achieve in collaboration with our partners in industry and academia. The mission is the culmination of decades of highly innovative work in partnership with some of the best scientists in Europe and the US."
Airbus UK was then contracted build the satellite, in Stevenage. It also relied on work from other British companies including a battery from ABSL in Abingdon and testing by European Astrotech UK in Westcott.
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