"The draft strategy is focused much more than before on the use of space systems throughout the economy. This will require the space community to work even more closely with commercial companies," said Lord Sainsbury.

"Increasingly, space is opening up new commercial opportunities in areas such as telecommunications and global positioning systems and a key objective of the draft strategy is to provide a framework which will enable UK companies to take advantage of these opportunities," he added.

The Government has set three key objectives for the Space industry. They are:

• Enhancing the UK's standing in astronomy, planetary and earth sciences;
• Stimulating increased productivity by promoting the use of space in government, science and commerce; and,
• Developing innovative space systems, to deliver sustainable improvement in quality of life.

The UK will continue its policy of investing selectively in space and of focussing on achieving its objectives cost-effectively, and through international partnerships.

The strategy is primarily focussed on the years 2003-06, but for the first time it also sets out the necessary long-term perspective to 2015.

The UK space industry is innovative, competitive and export-orientated. A study last year into the size and health of the industry showed that turnover had increased by 17 per cent to �2.9 billion with employment up 14 per cent. The UK has world-class expertise in many areas including telecommunications, small satellites, earth observation and radar technologies.

Worldwide, the market for Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) technology is forecast to grow by 85 per cent from 2001 to 2007. This will have a major impact on our every day lives as the technology is increasingly used in areas such as in-car navigation, aviation safety and location-based personal navigation services.

The publication of the strategy also comes at a time when the UK is becoming increasingly involved in space exploration missions. This May sees the launch of the British-built Beagle 2 Mission to Mars. In addition, the UK is working with the European Space Agency (ESA) to send a satellite to the Moon to study the entire surface. There are also planetary missions to Venus and Saturn's moon Titan.

The draft strategy published Wednesday on the BNSC website begins a three-month consultation including a public meeting on March 11. The UK space community, users and potential users of space services are invited to submit their comments on any aspect of the draft. After a three-month consultation period all comments will be analysed and will feed into the final document, which is due to be published later this year.

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