History as a Resource for the Present: Most Important UK Space News of the 20th Century
Today, the UK is one of the leading space players, manufacturing more satellites than any other country in Europe, and is also the only European country with its own local launch sites. Of course, this wasn’t achieved in a day — the country has a long aerospace history that goes back to the 1930s. So, what is the history of the UK space program?
Below, we’ve compiled information from the most trusted UK space news resources to guide you through Great Britain’s chief achievements of the past century.
1933 British Interplanetary Society Founded
UK’s stellar history officially began in 1933 with the founding of the British Interplanetary Society. It was not the space agency we know today, more of an enthusiast society, but that’s where it all began. Notably, Britain was the third country at the time to establish a similar organisation, preceded only by Germany (1927) and the US (1930).
1952 First British Space Programme Makes the News
Almost twenty years of UK space news silence was broken by truly record-breaking news — the announcement of the official British space programme. At this point, you may wonder about 20 years of silence and tech development WII. During this period, what happened in the 20th-century UK?
At the time, Germany had the highest rocket potential but used it for military purposes rather than peaceful exploration. Clearly, all the funding during WWII went to combat this threat. After capturing of Nazi tech by the Allies, many developments were ‘re-worked,’ and Britain took an active part in this process. However, a new threat was becoming evident — the growing political tensions that gave rise to the Cold War.
1960 Black Knight Military Rocket Greenlighted
Without weapons, what is the 20th-century space race? No wonder Great Britain had to partake — but fortunately, it never had to use its nuclear rocket, officially called Blue Streak. However, its test version, Black Knight, has proven successful, and scientists were lucky enough to convince the UK government to use their development for civilian purposes.
1962 First Satellite Launch, Ariel-1
On April 26, Ariel-1, the first UK-built satellite, was launched by NASA, establishing the country as a satellite builder and strengthening its ties with the US. Within the same collaboration programme, five more satellites went into orbit in the 1960s-1980s.
1971 Black Arrow Rocket Makes UK Space News
This was the first fully British launch of a British-made satellite on a British rocket. Only the launch site was Australian, but the event still made huge news. Even today, it marks the beginning of Great Britain’s cosmic independence.
1975 UK Contributes to ESA Formation
In May 1975, more news broke out — nine nations, the UK included, have joined to form the ESA as we know it today. At the time, Britain provided much of the technical expertise as an established leader and has been doing its part for almost fifty years since.
1985 British National Space Centre Emerges
In 1985, the need for a separate body to govern aerospace matters, including Britain’s participation in ESA initiatives, arose. That’s how the BNSC was created, and, in 2010, the UK Space Agency, as we know it today, has taken over its duties.
1990 Establishes Itself as a Satellite Leader
Since establishing its official government agency, what has the UK done for space? In just 15 years, the country positioned itself as a leader in satellite production. Eurostar satellite series officially became a new word in telecommunications tech, and such development was made possible by the country’s former advances in spacecraft technology.
1991 Helen Sharman, 1st UK astronaut Goes to Space
Another great news — the first British astronaut onboard the Russian space station, Mir. Chosen from thousands of applicants and trained for months, Helen embodies the effort to reconsolidate past tensions of the Cold War, which was short of its end.
1997 British Probe Sets for Saturn Moons
In October 1997, a Cassini-Huygens probe, a joint effort from ESA, NASA, and the Italian Space Agency, was launched to study Saturn and its rings. Technically, this was accomplished in the 21st century, but in the remaining years of the 1990s, Cassini accomplished some major achievements, including fly-bys of Venus and Earth.
This brief summary of UK space news of the 20th century is already impressive, but the next century holds even more promise. Some of the most notable UK Space Agency missions of our time include developing a Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) for the James Webb Telescope (2021), launching the Solar Orbiter mission (2020) to study the Sun’s outer atmosphere, and, of course, commissioning as a series of its own spaceports (2023-ongoing) for vertical and horizontal launch — the first facilities of this kind in Europe! This development is a specially promising one because it will give Britain launch independence — which, combined with the country’s unique experience in satellite manufacturing, could really take the UK to new, truly cosmic levels.
