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Demos does 'black sky thinking' on space
The emerging British space programme needs to excite the post-Sputnik generation, which regards the sky above as a US militarised zone or simply a place to point their satellite dishes, says Demos at the launch of a major new research project called Black Sky Thinking.
To help put Britain at the forefront of this new space race, Demos has put together a unique consortium of the major UK space interests to conduct a cost-benefit analysis of the British space programme. The partners will work together to produce the first coherent long-term strategy for research and investment in space technology.
Demos believes that greater awareness of the social benefits of space technology is required if the public is to support increased investment. Additional investment is urgently required to help put Britain at the forefront of the new scientific space race which is gathering speed.
Over the next decade astro-biologists are expected to deliver the first proof of life beyond earth. More down-to-earth applications such as reducing traffic congestion will be possible when satellite transponders are fitted in cars as standard. The prospect of space tourism is also becoming a reality, with several US companies already gearing up to take people into space.
“The American space programme has dominated the world, largely because of massive US defence budgets,” says James Wilsdon, who is leading the project at Demos. “NASA has become synonymous with exploration of the final frontier. We want see whether Britain can tell a different story about the wider social benefits of space technology.”
Black Sky Thinking will analyse Britain’s prospects in space over the next 20 years, and is intended to complement the new draft strategy by British National Space Centre (BNSC), which is due to be published shortly.
As part of this process, it is vitally important to increase public awareness of the potential of space technologies to improve the quality of life on earth. Since the enthusiasm for the original lunar expeditions waned at the end of the 1960s, space has been largely seen as a military domain.
Demos will make a distinctive contribution by helping the group of space technologists to explain the wider social benefits of space technology. As part of this process, the project partners will consider how the representations of space in books and films have affected national investment in space science.
Despite a major contribution to space research by British scientists, the wider social benefits of space technology have been undersold and the UK has failed to position itself as a major international player. Without capturing the public imagination, it will be hard to justify increased government investment in space research. The UK currently spends a sixth of the level of the US space programme as a proportion of GDP.
Partners in the Black Sky Thinking research group include: BNSC, Astrium, UK Industrial Space Committee, Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council (PPARC), Natural Environment Research Council and the Met Office.
Notes to editors
1. A report on the Black Sky Thinking project will be published by Demos later this year.
2. James Wilsdon is the head of strategy at Demos.
3. Demos is an independent think tank with a long track record in projects on social impact of innovation and new technology.