The U.K. government's announcement to absorb the nation's 15-year-old space agency into a recently established government department may sound shocking to some, but it came as no surprise to insiders. Still, some industry experts fear the move may harm the U.K.'s space ambitions and weaken its position within the European Space Agency, to which Britain allocates most of its civilian space budget.
The UK Space Agency (UKSA), formed in 2010 with the goal of propelling the country's space and satellite sector into the new space age, will be absorbed by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) by April.
