Continuing the space journey: 2024 reflections

Across 2024, half of the world’s population – some 3.7 billion people across 72 countries – voted in elections, deciding their futures and in doing so, steering the course of humanity. We live in an age of space, and just as satellites impact our daily lives – helping us communicate, get around, and forecast the weather – so the choices made by the voting public impact the space sector. Space may seem remote, but it is interwoven with life on Earth.

The UK Space Agency has undergone significant changes this year, prioritising and changing how we work to better deliver our purpose – to boost UK prosperity, understand the Universe, and protect our planet and outer space. We’ve also changed where we work across the UK, opening new locations across the country including our new headquarters on the Harwell Campus, alongside new offices in Cardiff, Edinburgh, and Leicester. What I hear from partners where we have these new, growing locations is they now feel better linked into the Agency, and better able to benefit from our support.

We have provided new funding to drive innovation and catalyse investment into the sector. This includes £13 million in funding through our International Bilateral Fund, providing a boost for 11 projects that showcase the best of UK space expertise on the international stage, and £33 million for cutting-edge space technologies through our National Space Innovation Programme. Last month, we also announced £3.5 million in funding for satellite communications to improve connectivity in remote areas – directly harnessing the benefits of space on earth and helping close the digital divide.  

We continue the quest to better understand the Universe. This year marked the signing of the contract for the space weather mission Vigil, due to launch in 2031, which will improve our ability to accurately forecast the Sun’s impact on Earth. We saw the launch of EarthCARE which will lead to more reliable climate predictions, helping us understand the role of clouds and aerosols in regulating Earth’s climate. ESA’s Euclid mission, which also has significant UK involvement, released its first data – helping us learn more about the dark matter and dark energy that dominate our Universe. And at the start of this month, the Sentinel-1C satellite, for which the UK’s Earth observation community is integral, launched on its mission to collect vital long-term data that will allow us to better understand our planet. 

In May, we saw the opening of the National Space Operations Centre, which brings together almost 70 civilian and military personnel to help keep us all safe from space-related threats. And in October, the UK became Chair of the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites – our priority will be to unlock the power of Earth observation to benefit society: improving public services and inspiring the next generation.  

It’s been encouraging to see so many examples this year of how space is improving people’s lives, and we all have an important role to play in that. Space is a team sport, and we can achieve so much when we work together and trust each other.

That’s not to say this year hasn’t been without challenge of course, and clearly not all change is positive. We continue to see an unsettled world, with war, strife and hardship across the globe.

But that drives us as an Agency to bring the benefits of space to everyone on Earth, continuing to evolve the ways we work and deliver together to improve lives, benefit humanity and keep space sustainable for generations to come. With a fast-growing space community and a wealth of talent across the UK space sector, we are up for that challenge.

On that note, I’d like to share this Christmas card designed by the winner of a competition we ran to help raise awareness of the importance of space sustainability. This fantastic design is from Julia Taylor, in the 13-17 age group – congratulations and thank you Julia!

However you choose to celebrate over the festive season, I wish you a restful and enjoyable break, and I look forward to continuing the space journey with you in the New Year. 2024 has been a pivotal year, and we have much to achieve together in 2025 and beyond. 

Paul