Written question asked by David Morris (Conservative) on Thursday, 14 July 2011, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 18 July 2011. It was answered by Lord Willetts (Conservative) on Monday, 5 September 2011 on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

Spaceflight: Government Assistance

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to encourage the development of commercial opportunities from investment in space science and exploration.

Answer: Space science and exploration is an excellent source of innovation and we have a comprehensive approach to creating commercial opportunities from our programme. The UK Space Agency and partners run networking events bringing space experts together with investors in areas such as health care, energy, environment and security. The agency has recently invested nearly half a million pounds in spin-off projects from the Aurora Mars programme. The European Space Agency provides support through a Technology Transfer Programme and together we have set up a Space Business Incubator to create new businesses exploiting space technology. This is based at the Harwell Space Cluster which also includes the International Space Innovation Centre, a public-private partnership driving space applications into the wider economy.

Secondary information