Scientific interest in space travel existed in the United Kingdom prior to World War II, particularly amongst members of the British Interplanetary Society (founded in 1933) whose members included Sir Arthur C. Clarke, … See more

Beginning in 1950, the UK developed and launched several space rockets, as well as developing space planes. These included the Black Knight and Blue Streak rockets. During this period, … See more

On 1 April 2010, the government established the UK Space Agency, an agency responsible for the British space programme. It replaced the British National Space Centre and now has responsibility for government policy and key budgets for space, as well as … See more

Communication and tracking of rockets and satellites in orbit is achieved using stations such as Jodrell Bank. During the Space Race, Jodrell Bank and other stations were used … See more

Early satellite programmes
The Ariel programme developed six satellites between 1962 and 1979, all of which were launched by NASA.
In 1971, the last … See more

In 1985 the British National Space Centre (BNSC) was formed to coordinate British space activities.
The BNSC was the third largest financial contributor to the … See more

The first Briton in space, cosmonaut-researcher Helen Sharman, was funded by a private consortium without British government assistance whilst the government of the See more