Message from RAeS

OUR PRESIDENT

Howard Nye

Marking an historical moment for the UK, 27 September 2021 saw publication of the long-awaited UK National Space Strategy¹. No longer seeking to increase the UK share of the global space market to 10% by 2030, the strategic objective is now to ‘put the UK firmly in the front rank of the global space industry’, and to establish the right conditions to achieve the UK’s civil and defence ambitions in space by unlocking growth in the space sector, collaborating internationally, growing the UK as a science and technology superpower and developing resilient space capabilities and services.

Publication not only coincided with the start of the three-day online 2021 UK Space Conference, which I personally attended, giving little time for conference delegates to deeply analyse the strategy and its implications but was only four days ahead of the deadline for submissions to the Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR).

Interestingly, and without advance knowledge of the date of publication of the strategy, a Westminster Forum Seminar entitled ‘Priorities for the UK space sector’ was scheduled for 14 October. I was asked to speak specifically on the ‘alignment of funding and investment with the strategic goals for the sector’, very pertinent given the circumstances. In line with the Society submission to the CSR on 30 September², my message was that a significant increase in government funding will be required, given the fact that the UK lies around tenth in the global list of space nations (based on 2018 data) with 2.7% of NASA spending and 20% of French spending and given the fact that UK’s academic and industrial reputation and experience has essentially been built up over more than 40 years through the UK’s engagement as the fourth largest contributor³ to (and with guaranteed return from) the European Space Agency and that private investment is supportive but cannot take the place of government funding. However, given the schedule constraints, it is likely that government funding will be defined by the end of 2021 before any in-depth analysis of the options for implementation of the strategy has been conducted.

On a lighter note, regarding our engagement with young people, on 17 September I was pleased to contribute online to the RAeS Young Persons Conference 2021 ‘Next-Generation Opportunities in Space’, encouraging people to enter the space domain, at all levels, and across all areas of expertise. On 5 October, the Society Space Group Early Careers Sub-Committee with Lockheed Martin UK ran a National Spaceport Competition, a student competition to promote spaceflight and inspire the next generation, involving over 1,500 students from more than 30 schools across the country. The students developed designs for a future national spaceport making critical design decisions and trade-off important factors, such as environmental impact, performance, safety, security and cost. Over the next month, the entries will be judged for awards and prizes for their school and next year the Society hopes to rerun the event on an even larger scale, reaching tens of thousands of young minds.

MARKING AN HISTORICAL MOMENT FOR THE UK, 27 SEPTEMBER 2021 SAW THE PUBLICATION OF THE LONG-AWAITED UK NATIONAL SPACE STRATEGY

The 2021 Branches Conference took place on 8/9 October, and I gave a brief (online) introduction. I highlighted the excellent work of the Branches in fulfilling the Society mission, through their numerous high-quality online events, and stressed the importance of our collective attention to diversity and inclusion, women in aerospace, aviation and space and, of course, engaging with young people in their regions. In addition, my thanks went to the Coventry Branch for hosting the conference, to Meggitt who had permitted a visit to their establishment, and to the Branches Committee for their continuous support to all the Branches. Simon Hall, Chair of the Branches Committee was unfortunately not available but the Vice-Chair, Hania Mohiuddin did an excellent job in chairing the event.

I was interested to learn of the apprehension towards space tourism expressed by the UN Secretary-General António Guterres at the UN General Assembly on 27 September, concerning the ethical aspects, as the number of space tourism missions scheduled increases over the next five years. Regarding the protection of our near-space environment, Space Forge, a UK start-up established in 2018 developing ecofriendly reusable satellites, has been awarded a contract under the ESA Boost! Initiative, to support technology development for its ForgeStar Orbital Vehicle (FSOV-1), scheduled for launch in 2022 and serving as an active field test for return-to-Earth reusable satellites and tracking software.

Finally, I look forward to meeting the winners at the Society Medals and Awards Night on 22 November in Hamilton Place.

1 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-space-strategy

2 https://www.aerosociety.com/media/16983/2021-raes-csr-submission-final.pdf

3 https://www.statista.com/statistics/1169442/esabudget-contributors-europe

OUR CHIEF EXECUTIVE

David Edwards

As I write, COP26 in Glasgow is about to begin, and the world’s focus once again returns to sustainability and, undoubtedly, how aviation and aerospace are working to reduce our impact on the environment around us. Our Climate Change conference, which took place on 19-20 October and addressed a number of challenges, was very well attended and saw us take our first steps into the next stage of our pandemic recovery as a hybrid event, with a blend of online and physical attendance.

We continue to provide fully virtual events, with over 500 people registered to attend this month’s Careers in Aerospace & Aviation LIVE 2021 – a high point in our STEM outreach work. In addition, the Careers team are now travelling again, working with Boeing on our reimagined Ballantyne event ‘Project Altitude’, aimed at secondary school students. The next event is taking place at the WMG Academy Trust, based in the Midlands. The lack of STEM outreach events during the pandemic has meant that a significant number of children have missed out on the inspiration to join our sector, so we’re very grateful to Boeing for their support in helping us raise the pace once again in this vital work.

During October, we submitted evidence to UK government in advance of the Comprehensive Spending Review and October Budget. Our partner, the National Engineering Policy Centre, submitted evidence on behalf of the community of Professional Engineering Institutions and we also submitted some evidence directly regarding funding for space, Jet Zero, R&D, defence and skills development and careers. Both submissions are available on the Society’s website and we continue more work for our sectors this month.

I’m making it a priority to get out as much as I can to meet with members and Corporate Partners in my first few months, the first opportunity being the 110th Branches Conference, hosted by the Coventry Branch on 8-9 October. We’re very grateful to Meggitt for its huge support of the event, particularly welcoming us as the first group visit to their impressive brand new facility at Ansty Park.

I want to thank all of the Branch representatives, speakers and attendees, particularly Ellie McBrien MRAeS from the YPC and also Hania Mohiuddin AMRAeS, the Vice Chair of the Branches Committee. The Coventry Branch were excellent hosts, in particular Branch President Steve Pilling FRAeS and Chair Ron Carr MRAeS. On 20 October I attended the Sir Geoffrey de Havilland Lecture at Hatfield by Dr Bill Brooks FRAeS, as well as having the chance to tour the University of Hertfordshire which offers a range of courses accredited by the Society.

The Society is always interested in working with our members and Corporate Partners and in October we welcomed Marie de Saint-Cheron, SVP, Europe and Multilateral Affairs at Safran and Nigel Woodford FRAeS, UK Managing Director, to officially open the Safran Green Room at No.4 Hamilton Place (see p 56). It marks the continuation of our strong relationship across all areas of the Society’s activities from engagement with our member Boards and Committees, support for our local Branch in Cheltenham & Gloucester, and participation in our skills and STEM outreach programmes. We are excited that Safran will take advantage of its Corporate Partnership by hosting its clients and guests in the Safran Green Room while in London.

DURING OCTOBER, WE SUBMITTED EVIDENCE TO UK GOVERNMENT IN ADVANCE OF THE COMPREHENSIVE SPENDING REVIEW AND OCTOBER BUDGET

Nominations for the 2022 RAeS Council elections are now open. The Council serves as the voice of our members and focuses on the outward-facing aspects of the Society. To deliver our work globally we need Council members from all sectors of the aviation, aerospace, and space communities so that we have the breadth of background, experience and diversity that truly represents the membership. We would welcome nominations from across the sphere of our membership but particularly from groups under-represented at present, specifically women, members of the BAME and LGBTQ+ communities, and people with disabilities. If you can serve your Society in this way then we, and our interim Head of Governance and Compliance nigel.dingley@aerosociety.com would love to hear from you.

The Society’s historic image collection is being digitised and is available to create ideal Christmas gifts from your favourite iconic and inspiring images. Visit www.aerosociety.com/gifts to browse what we have available.

Meanwhile, No.4 Hamilton Place is available to hire again and host your Christmas parties or celebratory occasions this festive season. If our team can help with our unique space in the heart of London, please visit www.4hp.org.uk/Christmas-parties or contact hello@4hp.co.uk to access discounted rates for members and Corporate Partners.

If you would like to attend any of our events, or to support our work through sponsorship, please do reach out to us – we’d love to hear from you.