The Space Innovation and Growth Team (also known as the Space IGT) is a is a joint UK government and industry initiative which has defined a 20-year vision and strategy for the future growth of the UK space industry - launched on 10 February 2010 as the Space Innovation and Growth Strategy (IGS).

Purpose

Its purpose was to "attempt to identify key trends and then list the actions industry and government need to take if they want to fully exploit the changes that are coming over the next 20 years."

This included "involving the entire UK space community in setting out the challenges and opportunities that will govern its future value, competitiveness and growth". A "20 year strategy for the future of the British space industry" will be created enabling Britain to become "a leader in the world space landscape", as well as creating jobs, income and adding economic value to the country. One of the topics will be to identify "facilitators and barriers, whether policy and government related, economic, financial, technological, innovation, or awareness and perception issues".

Key Objectives

• Identifying and benchmarking the full UK space capability; identifying the future market opportunities; and proposing a policy for growth and a technology roadmap to support this
• Aligning the UK's civil, defence and security policies in science, manufacturing, and 'downstream' applications businesses
• Creating a 'space aware' culture and its importance to everyday life to maximise the potential for jobs and wealth creation in the UK, resulting in Space being factored and considered in business and HMG policy

Members

• Andy Green, IGT chair and Logica CEO
• Lord Drayson
• Perry Melton, Inmarsat COO
• Major Timothy Peake
  Timothy Peake
  Timothy Nigel Peake is a former British Army Air Corps officer and a current European Space Agency astronaut. He is the first British citizen to be selected as an astronaut by ESA...
  
  , ESA astronaut
  Astronaut
  An astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft....
  
  

IGT Blueprint

The expected growth of the space tourism

Space tourism

Space Tourism is space travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. A number of startup companies have sprung up in recent years, hoping to create a space tourism industry...

 industry is expected to be one of the key trends of the next 20 years and Virgin Galactic

Virgin Galactic

Virgin Galactic is a company within Richard Branson's Virgin Group which plans to provide sub-orbital spaceflights to the paying public, along with suborbital space science missions and orbital launches of small satellites...

 has agreed to helped develop the IGT blueprint in the hope that the UK can "mirror" the legislative measures of USA and Japan to enable the UK to stay at the forefront of the global space tourism

Space tourism

Space Tourism is space travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. A number of startup companies have sprung up in recent years, hoping to create a space tourism industry...

 industry. Science minister Lord Drayson called the space sector "a bit of a hidden jewel" with regards to its stealth but healthy contributor to the UK economy.

Future of the U.K. space industry

At present the UK space industry turns over £6billion per year and supports 70,000 jobs. Major Timothy Peake

Timothy Peake

Timothy Nigel Peake is a former British Army Air Corps officer and a current European Space Agency astronaut. He is the first British citizen to be selected as an astronaut by ESA...

has stated that the Space IGT will "give us a great platform to say more about the commercial opportunities and how space can really contribute to the UK economy and jobs in the future."

External links

• http://www.spaceigs.co.uk
• Space IGT Official Website