International space station

The UK is party, through its membership of the European Space Agency (ESA), to the largest collaborative civil science and technology project ever embarked upon by Western Nations. Together with the USA, Canada and Japan, ESA has concluded an Intergovernmental Agreement1 to develop and operate a permanently manned civil space station. In the last few months, however, budgetary constraints have forced design changes on the USA’s National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) which affect the timing and possibly the utility of the European contribution.

This POSTnote describes the UK’s involvement in the space station, and examines the way ahead in the light of the US budget constraints and European aspirations in space.