Memorandum submitted by the National Centre
for Earth Observation (UKSA 22)
INTRODUCTION
1. The National Centre for Earth Observation
is a partnership of scientists from 26 institutions, involving
a wide range of scientific disciplines, who are using data from
Earth observation satellites to monitor global and regional changes
in the environment and to improve understanding of the Earth system
so that climate and environmental conditions can be predicted.
Core funding (about £36 million over five years) comes from
the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC).
2. The NCEO response has been submitted in addition
to the NERC response, and has been prepared in consultation with
the NCEO science community to provide an additional perspective.
3. Details of NCEO programmes are available at
www.nceo.ac.uk.
4. NCEO supported the creation of the UKSA,
seeking a focused and effective organisation that would provide
strong leadership to:
(a) Enable strategic decisions to be made on
behalf of the whole UK community, including the effective delivery
of ESA programmes.
(b) Create and sustain a strong national programme
with a blend of science, technology and applications across the
research, policy and commercial sectors.
(c) Use and develop the newly created International
Space Innovation Centre at Harwell as an effective delivery arm.
(d) Engage with and capitalise on the significant
investment being made in Earth observation by national space agencies
such as NASA, European partners and nations which are emerging
as strong players in EO such as China, India and Brazil.
GENERAL COMMENTS
5. NCEO interests in space are motivated
primarily by the scientific opportunities from Earth observation
and by the scope to develop, in partnership with other organisations
including industry, applications of wide benefit to society. We
see the major contribution of EO to be in three key inter-related
areas. In outline:
— For science: advancing our understanding
of the Earth system processes and providing the evidence of climate
and environmental change.
— For public policy and services: for example,
improved weather and ocean forecasting, air quality forecasting,
environmental protection, risk and disaster management.
— For commerce and wealth creation: EO
is emerging rapidly as a growth industry, particularly in areas
of high resolution observing, with EO data being integrated into
applications using new visualisation technologies such as Google
Earth.
6. In each area, global investment is high
and the UK is hugely reliant on continued provision of data and
technology from international partners including space agencies
(NASA, ESA etc), operational agencies (such as Eumetsat and NOAA)
and, increasingly, private sector providers (eg commercial high
resolution imaging providers). A strong engagement with international
EO programmes—involving the whole spectrum of activities
from space hardware technology, through science to applications—is
therefore necessary if the UK is to capitalise fully on these
international investments.
7. Previous handling of space policy and
investment in the UK left the UK in a weak position on certain
critical issues.
— Lack of investment by UK in future European
operational satellite programmes such as (ESA/EU) GMES Sentinels,
(Eumetsat) MTG and EPS has left UK industry in a poor position
for ongoing contracts in these programmes.
— Ability to participate with major partners
such as NASA on specific missions and programmes is inhibited
by lack of resource to pursue bilateral opportunities.
— Lack of a viable national programme in
new technology, space instrumentation and applications development
has limited the ability of the UK to benefit from international
public and private investments in EO.
8. The view of the NCEO is that a very effective
way to seize the opportunities in the future and to remedy the
shortcomings of the past is to establish a well resourced UK Space
Agency, part of whose mandate is to develop and prioritise an
innovative and strategic programme in EO. In order to meet Government's
aspirations for wealth creation and to foster world class science
and knowledge base, the UKSA will need the constitution and remit
to decide on its priorities and programme, taking onboard advice
from the spectrum of stakeholders.
1. What progress has been made in setting
up the UK Space Agency?
1.1 The NCEO understands that UKSA was formed
to provide a single unifying voice for UK space policy, to act
as stronger advocate for space technology and applications and
to lead the development and delivery of a more ambitious UK space
strategy. Some progress has been made in bringing together various
UK space investments, offering the scope for more decisive and
strategic direction for UK space policy. We look forward to rapid
progress to define and communicate a new strategic vision which
goes significantly beyond the limitations of the past.
1.2 In parallel with the formation of UKSA, there
have been various inter-related developments including the publication
of the Space Innovation and Growth Strategy, formation of the
International Space Innovation Centre and the location of the
ESA Centre at Harwell. In particular, NCEO sees ISIC as a major
delivery arm for UKSA. There is danger that, unless UKSA takes
effective control, the activities might not achieve their potential
or even diverge.
2. How does the UK Space Agency work with
other bodies (national and international) on space issues?
2.1 The UKSA needs to present and promote
its plans to engage with key national and international bodies.
There is a pressing need for leadership by UKSA because of ongoing
obligations with international partners and major new opportunities,
eg for a stronger relationship with NASA.
2.2 At national level, the mandate of the Space
Leadership Council is unclear, at least to the outside community.
Some members of the Council are formally representing stakeholder
institutions and some are appointed ad hominem. For instance,
there is no formal representation on the Council of NCEO, the
leading UK EO science programme, although two senior members of
NCEO are appointed as individuals.
2.3 As with most areas of space, international
engagement is critical to space-based EO. The UK strategy should
embrace not only investment in ESA but also opportunities for
investment with other international space partners. Collaboration
with NASA presents particularly exciting opportunities because
of the long and successful track record of collaboration between
NASA and UK scientists and also because NASA is actively seeking
international partners for its programmes. Rapidly developing
major space countries such as China, India and Brazil also afford
opportunities for the UK in science, technology and applications.
3. Is the UK Space Agency more effective
at coordinating space policy than its predecessor, the British
National Space Centre?
3.1 Unlike its predecessor, the UKSA has
the scope to overcome the structural failings of the past. UKSA
should to take a strong lead in defining "the" UK space
policy, argue for resource to implement accordingly and prioritise
its investments in consultation with other stakeholders.
3.2 A close relationship is needed between UKSA
and publicly funded bodies which have the potential to benefit
from EO from space to optimise the delivery of their objectives.
Central government departments and agencies that see themselves
as "users" of space data ought not be burdened with
responsibility for investment in upstream space infrastructure.
Rather, they should focus on how they can apply EO in their day
to day work and then work with UKSA and other stakeholders to
define the technology and application development strategy accordingly.
4. What should the UK Space Agency's priorities
be for the next five years?
4.1 As a major partner in ESA, a key priority
for the UKSA is to be a strong voice within ESA to promote UK
interests by influencing and benefiting from the totality of investments
by ESA Member States.
4.2 A second and closely related role is to develop
a national space programme that enables the UK to benefit from
the significant international investments in EO which include
those of ESA, EUMETSAT, EU, NASA and other space agencies such
as China, Brazil, India and Japan. At the heart of this national
programme should be a national technology programme with three
strands:
— An instrument and satellite technologies
programme to participate in and to steer international projects
which help UK industry and other organisations to win contracts
to build technologically advanced hardware. An overarching goal
is to win repeat business in manufacturing and related services.
— A small satellite programme (which could
be quasi autonomous) to develop further UK's innovation and world
leadership in this area.
— A ground segment technologies and applications
programme for active satellite control; data production, calibration
and reprocessing; validation and visualisation; facilitating both
scientific exploitation and novel applications in both government
and commercial sectors.
The ISIC is in a pivotal position to deliver
and support these elements of a national programme.
5. Is the UK Space Agency adequately funded?
5.1 NCEO understands that the majority of
funding for EO in UKSA comes from the transfer of the ESA subscription
from NERC. Short of reducing our ESA subscription and losing the
significant benefits that this has brought, the UKSA does not
have resources for a national programme to gain gearing from international
programmes, to retain leadership in small satellite programmes
and to develop innovative applications. With the current funding
levels it is not clear that the UKSA can go beyond previous arrangements
for developing EO related space activities in the UK.
National Centre for Earth Observation
September 2010
| 
