Astronautics. Space travel
Research Topic
Language: English
This is a research topic created to provide authors with a place to attach new problem publications.
Research problems linked to this topic
- How is the space sector changing our society? What will this look like in the future? What is the role of government in this context?
- What is the evidence for the effectiveness of UK intervention in the space sector?
- What are plausible scenarios and what role could/should the UK play in them?
- What is the potential for commercial human space travel in the long-term?
- How is the space sector likely to grow and change, and what will that mean for the UK space sector?
- What are the infrastructure, airspace, regulatory and skills requirements for the UK space industry and what are the impacts of existing government interventions?
- Building a stronger overall picture of the space sector. Mapping and explaining how the sector works, how its constituent parts intermesh, how the UK space sector is connected to the rest of the world, how academia and industry interconnect.
- Investigating the impact of the space sector on wider UK economy and society. What services are provided by the space sector?
- What are the areas of strength and weakness in UK space science and technology?
- What is the role of government in this context?
- How can we leverage our world-class researchers, education, businesses and facilities to build the UK as a science and technology superpower, and in doing so, helping to achieve our goals in space?
- How do we measure and understand space? What is the role of government in this context?
- Horizon scanning assessments of the future landscape for space.
- What are the areas of weakness, what are the areas of strength?
- Affordable space – How can Defence achieve affordable access to space? How can we harness advances in the commercial sector and maximise our use of space based services? How do we improve our situation awareness of space? Where are the opportunities to reduce the size, weight and power of space based capabilities?
- Looking at skills across the space sector – what is needed, what is being provided, identifying shortages and developing proposals for addressing those shortages. Strengthening our understanding of what attracts graduates towards/ drives them away from choosing to work in the space sector. What is the role of government in this context?
- How to assess the costs and benefits of existing international collaborations?
- How can government effectively champion UK-led space science, exploration and innovation which expands our horizons and inspires the next generation?
- How can we better understand trends in geospatial investment internationally, including into the capture of data (such as satellite, aerial imaging and surveying programmes) and the development of geospatial applications?
- How to increase bilateral and multilateral partnerships with other spacefaring nations, forging the best relationships to achieve our goals in space?
- Estimating the climate change impact of the space sector, across the entire value chain. Analysing and proposing methods and mechanisms to reduce this impact. Estimating how space sector products (e.g., earth observation) can support broader climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts. What is the role of government in this context?
- How can the use of low orbit satellites augment existing sensing capabilities in policing?
- What are public/industry perceptions of space technologies/services and how can these help inform government interventions?
- How to make the UK a partner of choice in space activities?