UK and France agree space cooperation

The agreement includes £15m of UK investment and projects for immediate collaboration include an instrument for EUMETSAT, the next generation of European weather satellites that are expected to enhance the value of weather forecasting services, and the CNES/NASA project on global fresh water distribution.

The CNES/NASA mission is being designed to conduct the most comprehensive global survey of Earth’s surface water, using the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite. SWOT will measure how water bodies on Earth change over time, helping the improvement of ocean circulation models, weather and climate predictions, and freshwater management around the world.

Today’s agreement also paves the way for joint work on telecommunications, space weather and research and technologies in the space field.

The agreement was signed by Dr David Parker, chief executive of the UK Space Agency, and Jean-Yves Le Gall, president of CNES.

In a statement Dr Parker, said: ‘Space is a growing global business, with a growing importance to the world economy. To build on our country’s success in the global space market, make the most of the sector’s many benefits and to meet increasingly international challenges, we need to build strong relationships with other space-faring nations.