GovWire

This gives an overview of our purpose and role, our strategy and our key targets and milestones.

Update: May 2024

This years update to the UK Space Agencys Corporate Plan revises the spending profile and milestones published in our 2022 Corporate Plan. The last update was published in November 2023.

The UK Space Agency will continue to work towards the eight delivery priorities set out in the plan (launch, sustainability, discovery, Earth observation, inspiration, innovation, low Earth orbit capabilities and levelling-up). Amongst other changes to the milestones and budget allocations published in 2022 and updated in 2023, we will:

• Discovery:Review the design of new Infrared Spectrometer (Enfys) for the Rosalind Franklin rover prior to it being fully built and tested for the 2028 Mars mission.We will now also complete a call for proposals for science experiments on the proposed UK Axiom mission to the International Space Station, which was announced in February (subject to commercial sponsorship)
• Earth Observation:Accept to chair the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites, helping us to set the global agenda for investment in this sector
• Innovation: Complete projects in our National Space Innovation Programme (NSIP) and International Bilateral Programme.We have already launched our first Unlocking Space for Business funding call, in April
• Inspiration: Engage target audiences with 3 million hours of UK Space Agency-supported activities, including children and young people
• Launch: Enable the first of our vertical pathfinder small satellite launches from the UK (late 2024)
• Levelling-up: Complete our Space Clusters Infrastructure Fund (SCIF) projects.
• Sustainability: Open the National Space Operations Centre (NSpOC) as the first central UK body to analyse and assess space information and coordinate associated operational space activities.Well also run a design competition to further develop designs and test the market for alternative designs for National Debris Removal mission
• Low Earth Orbit: Increase our funding to build industry capabilities for communications in low Earth orbit, as announced by Ministers in 2023. We have already opened our first grant call, in April this year.

We have also:

• made provision for increased staff costs relating to the recent Department for Science, Innovation and Technology pay award, and new roles to support our delivery this year
• announced our opening Agency offices in Cardiff, Leicester, Edinburgh and our new HQ in Harwell. And we have made provision for increased staff costs relating to the recent Department for Science, Innovation and Technology pay award, and new roles to support our delivery this year

Our revised financial profile also includes additional funding announced last year to boost activity and innovation in the Earth observation sector as we re-join Copernicus.

The financial and delivery timeline information in this publication was accurate as of 16 April 2024 and does not include any changes made since this date. Any such changes will be included in the next publication of the UK Space Agency Annual Report and Accounts.

Update: November 2023

This years annual update to the UK Space Agencys Corporate Plan summarised in the tables above revises the spending profile and milestones published in our 2022 Corporate Plan. We have updated our key targets, milestones and budgets for 2023/24 and 2024/25.

Amongst other changes to the milestones and budget allocations published in 2022 we have:

• increased our spending on Levelling Up through the landmark new programme the Space Clusters Infrastructure Fund (SCIF). SCIF supports the development of space R&D infrastructure across the UK, increasing its capacity and leveraging significant private investment into the sector. SCIF will enable the development of facilities to test and manufacture innovative products and accelerate them to market, supporting the growth of UK Space businesses and creating new jobs across the UK. SCIF supports delivery of the vision set out in the National Space Strategy to build one of the most innovative and attractive space economies in the world
• deferred some expected Launch activity into future years. The UK Space Agency is currently developing Phase Two of the programme (subject to HM Treasury approval), which will build on Phase One to support a commercially sustainable UK launch capability. The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology is also considering where further government support may be required over the longer term, following the conclusion of Phase Two, to ensure a successful UK launch industry that delivers growth to the economy
• deferred some expected spending on our Inspiration Priority to future years in order to maximise the impact and reach of activities. Concurrently the UK Space Agency will generate new inspirational activity with respect to our UK astronauts, as well as scaling up the most impactful and established projects. The UK Space Agencys involvement in ESA projects and missions agreed at CMIN 22 will also provide inspirational value while not directly contributing to our Inspiration Priority.

We have also added two corporate metrics in this years corporate planning refresh, to:

• track UK geographical return (geo-return) from ESA to understand how the value of contracts issued to UK industry compares to the UK Space Agencys contribution to ESA
• measure staff confidence that the UK Space Agency will act on scores obtained from the annual Civil Service People Survey

The financial table shows that the total programme budget increased from 1,750m in the originally published 3-year plan to 1,858.3m. This reflects additional budget made available in-year to the agency for additional investments in Earth Observation Programmes.

The financial and delivery timeline information in this publication was accurate as of 19 June 2023 and does not include changes made since this date. These changes will be included in the next publication of the UK Space Agency Annual Report and Accounts.

Announcements of new projects and further funding beyond this update to the Corporate Plan will appear on the UK Space Agency gov.uk page, such as the recent announcement of up to 160m for the Connectivity in Low Earth Orbit programme.