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UK Space Agency Launched
krou writes "Today saw the launch of the new UK Space Agency (UKSA), which will officially come into being on the 1st of April. Its stated goal is to lead to more coherency in space policy, and better decision making, by gradually assuming control over the various budgets and management functions of various government departments and science funding councils. Lord Drayson, the minister for science and innovation, said that 'People in the UK are not aware of just how good Britain is both at space research and in terms of our space industry; [a space agency] is going to make people more aware of that. But in practical terms, it's going to make the decision-making by government in all aspects of space policy much more joined up, better co-ordinated — a single point within government which has responsibility for making sure that we get everything in alignment such that the space research we do, the space industry that we're building, fulfils its true potential.' The government also announced that it is adding £24m to the £16m put up by business to create an International Space Innovation Centre at Harwell in Oxfordshire."
Regardless it is a joke and they picked an appropriate day to start it.
Black Arrow rebooted? They fired the engines several times, and then they fired the engineers. :-(
Ezekiel 23:20
In the UK the public sector (and a lot of provate firms too) begins the new financial year on 1st April, so this date is commonly the day that new government agencies start operating, and old ones are wound up. It's because until 1752 New Year's Day in Britain and its colonies was March 25th. In 1752 we adopted the Gregorian calendar, and New Year's Day moved to January 1st. Since then the tax year in the UK starts on April 5th (March 25th + 11) because moving from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar meant an adjustment of 11 days, but the Inland Revenue didn't want to lose any revenue from their annual accounts. April 1st became the common financial new year as it was the nearest whole-month start to that date.
If you've ever experienced our climate, you should realise we'll put up with anything.
Surely they should have called it the Ministry of Space?
The first positive news that comes out of the UK for ages. How do those people cope? Sheesh.
The amount of positive British news reported in the British media is roughly the same as the amount of positive American news reported in the American media.
NASA
http://www.nasa.gov/
ESA = European Space Agency
http://www.esa.int/
CSA = Canadian Space Agency
http://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/default.asp
JAXA = Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
(ooops)
http://www.jaxa.jp/
Tons more
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_agency
The logo will be a ladder extending above the top of a roof top...
A true Englishman would describe the catastrophic failure of an oxygen tank as "a spot of bother".
Now now, just because it has a consultant who goes by the name of "the Doctor", and the first interplanetary cruiser to be named "HMS Camden Locks" doesn't mean it has to be all fanciful..
Hmmm
They have already chosen the logo and colour scheme.
As for your references to Soviet UK, it should be noted that nepotism exists across the political spectrum. Yes we have too many quango's under the current Labour Government, just as we had too many quango's under the previous Conservative government...
They seem to already have a logo, and a pretty nice one too.
"Total destruction the only solution" - Bob Marley
You should probably stop watching Noels HQ and reading the daily mail.
British Crime Survey 2008-2009 states -
The BCS and police recorded crime differ in their coverage of crime. Overall, crime as measured by the BCS shows no change compared with the 2007/08 BCS with no change in most crime types. Crimes recorded by the police show a five per cent decrease compared with 2007/08, with decreases in most crime types.
HOW HAVE LEVELS OF CRIME CHANGED OVER THE LONGER TERM?
Long-term trends show that BCS crime rose steadily from 1981 through to the early 1990s, peaking in 1995. Crime then fell, making 1995 a significant turning point. The fall was substantial until 2004/05. Since then, BCS crime has shown little overall change with the exception of a statistically significant reduction of 10 per cent in 2007/08 (the lowest ever level since the first results in 1981). The apparent increase of five per cent in BCS crime this year is not statistically significant. Trends in BCS violence, vehicle-related theft and burglary broadly reflect the trend in all BCS crime.
the full report is here
(1.21 gigawatts) / (88 miles per hour) = 30 757 874 newtons
It's soooooo nice to see a fresh new article that hasn't yet been visited by the [citation needed] fairies.
Although the "outer space is up" claim probably will require a cite.
No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism. - Winston Churchill
Reported crime is very different from low level intimidation by welfare bred chav thugs who know exactly how far they can push it before they will get in serious trouble, which is what I was talking about
In other words, you're a coward who's scared shitless of everyone around him, and you get your kicks out of whining on slashdot. Well, as long as you're willing to admit that, I guess I can't really argue with you.
Well me old China, we generally have a knees up round the old Joanna while eating marmite sandwiches, drinking warm beer and lamenting the loss of our Empire.
To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
"Euston, we have a problem!"
----------------------------------- My Other Sig Is Hilarious -----------------------------------
This is pretty pointless, the UK could raise their contribution to the ESA and ESA would need to hand more contracts back to the UK. There really is no point to having their own space agency, compared to ensuring our common European interests.
And the same goes to the rest. If they need one, set it up as the Swedish Space Agency, they don't really do anything except oversee the Swedish contribution to ESA and some research. There really is no need to develop launchers or satellites locally.
"Civis Europaeus sum!"
You clearly said "crime rates skyrocketing out of control". This is demonstrably untrue, and the fact that you made this claim indicates quite clearly that you have little actual knowledge of what you're talking about, and are just pulling vitriol out of your arse.
Yes, chavs intimdating people is unacceptable, and no it isn't as rife as you think it is, just because you watch police..camera..wankers every night on channel 5.
(1.21 gigawatts) / (88 miles per hour) = 30 757 874 newtons
As a matter of course? Wow. It's really funny that this is your perception. A small anecdote for you. I'm South African, and I'm living in the UK (have been here for 9 years). My parents still live in South Africa. A recent phone conversation from my dad went something like this:
Dad: Where's [your wife]? ...
Me: She's out in [local city], she'll be back tonight at 11.
Dad: Good grief, will she be okay?
Me: What do you mean?
Dad: I mean, is it safe?
Me: Of course, she'll be fine.
Dad: But crime is so bad over there, are you sure?
* A brief pause while I ponder on the amazing situation of my Dad living in South Africa telling me crime is bad in the UK *
Me: Umm, it's really not that bad Dad.
Dad: God, I watch Sky news all the time, it sounds like a war zone. People getting stabbed all the time
Me: Uh, Dad, do you watch the news about South Africa at all?
Dad: Yeah, but it sounds much worse over there!
And that's the crux really: it seems much worse than it is because its sensationalised. Here's a tip: stop reading rags like The Sun, or the Daily Mail, and stop watching Sky News, or at the very least start analysing the "facts" these news outlets trot out. Most of the major news outlets in the UK rely on xenophobia and fear to sell their papers. It's really peculiar that people seem to lap it up and create this world of fear that really doesn't exist. Yes, I've seen "mindless" intimidation from a hoodie. I can probably count the number of instances on one hand, and that's having lived here for 9 years, some of them in some fairly "dodgy" parts of London. But that's hardly representative of life in the UK to generate the irrational fear you're exhibiting.
'If Christ had tweeted the sermon on the mount, it might have lasted until nightfall.' - John Perry Barlow
"Hello, Houston? Yes, sorry to bother you chaps, but..."
Help children born unable to swallow - www.tofs.org.uk
Thats my interpretation of it. This will presumably mean that any university research project that wants to fly an instrument in some other nations spacecraft will now have to go through an endless round of paperwork with the "Strategic Space Agency" who will check that it fits with their political mandate to fly a second rate television celebrity into space in order to promote the socialist ideals of our barking mad government.
In other words the UK is going in the diametric opposite direction to the USA who have decided to take away NASA's monopoly and get a bit of commercial competition going in the civilian space arena.
Its not surprising that there is a sizable number of the British population who dream of the Army taking over, taking the Labour government to court for treason and lining them up and shooting them as they are convicted.
Of course with any luck we will have a change of government in the next couple of months and we can look forward to the long slow dismantlement of the factory floor sweeping Soviet economy that are the legacy of over a decade of the Labour parties ideological bankruptcy. Did I say I wasn't keen on the Labour party? Oh I see I did...
Facts are history now plebs have politics for religion on social media.
That was exactly the point I was trying to make - SA has one of the worst crime rates in the world, and yet my Dad's perception was that the UK was worse because of Sky's media coverage.
'If Christ had tweeted the sermon on the mount, it might have lasted until nightfall.' - John Perry Barlow
I was hoping it would be called Her Majesty's Space Agency (HMSA), it sounds much better then UKSA.
(Great British Space Agency) GBSA* also sounds better. They picked the worst possible name from those available...
*Yes, yes I know... but how much input will come from Northern Ireland, really?
If I have nothing to hide, you have no reason to search me
If you want an international perspective try watching the UK news on events in the USA .... we don't see many good news stories from the US either
You do have a School shooting most weeks, can't walk the streets in safety and are likely to get caught in the crossfire of an armed robbery most days .... or is this just (as I suspect) media hype and most Americans would not recognise their own country as portrayed in the UK Media
I suspect that the US Media do the same, and show the UK as nothing but doom and gloom and more restrictions and scandal, but the reality is very different
Puteulanus fenestra mortis
I dunno.. have a look at this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppXlVjRD5lY
http://rareformnewmedia.com/