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09/06/2005
UK space programme criticised by MPs
Britain’s space programme has been heavily criticised by a committee of MPs, who said it had “no real prospect of success”.
A report by the Public Accounts Committee criticised the management of civil space activities and said that projects were not sufficiently monitored.
In particular, the Beagle 2 project, the Mars lander which disappeared during its descent to the planet in 2003, was singled out for criticism by the committee, as a project that was “doomed from the start” and should never have been allowed to go ahead.
The space projects, which cost £188 million in 2003/05, were conducted in partnerships with 10 government departments, research councils and agencies. However, the damning report said that the projects were “expensive and uncertain” and said that some had failed – like Beagle 2 – while others were delayed.
The report blamed the failures on "over-ambitious time schedule, punishing weight constraints, poor management and uncertain funding.”
The MPs called for risk management to be improved and that the agencies involved should provide sufficient funding at the beginning of a project, in order to identify and mitigate associated technical and construction risks.
The committee also said that the risks of collaboration with other agencies, such as the European Space Agency and NASA in the US had to be addressed and said the partnership should deal with risks explicitly in appraising project funding.
The committee also urged the partnership to re-examine costs of the European satellite-navigation system, the Galileo project, which it had estimated would benefit the UK by £6 billion, following a £78 million outlay.
(KMcA/SP)
A report by the Public Accounts Committee criticised the management of civil space activities and said that projects were not sufficiently monitored.
In particular, the Beagle 2 project, the Mars lander which disappeared during its descent to the planet in 2003, was singled out for criticism by the committee, as a project that was “doomed from the start” and should never have been allowed to go ahead.
The space projects, which cost £188 million in 2003/05, were conducted in partnerships with 10 government departments, research councils and agencies. However, the damning report said that the projects were “expensive and uncertain” and said that some had failed – like Beagle 2 – while others were delayed.
The report blamed the failures on "over-ambitious time schedule, punishing weight constraints, poor management and uncertain funding.”
The MPs called for risk management to be improved and that the agencies involved should provide sufficient funding at the beginning of a project, in order to identify and mitigate associated technical and construction risks.
The committee also said that the risks of collaboration with other agencies, such as the European Space Agency and NASA in the US had to be addressed and said the partnership should deal with risks explicitly in appraising project funding.
The committee also urged the partnership to re-examine costs of the European satellite-navigation system, the Galileo project, which it had estimated would benefit the UK by £6 billion, following a £78 million outlay.
(KMcA/SP)
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