FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF HUMAN SPACEFLIGHT

Early day motion 1598, tabled 15 March 2011 by Adam Afriyie (Conservative). Signed by 35 members.

That this House notes the fiftieth anniversary of the first human flight in space by Yuri Gagarin on 12 April 1961; welcomes the results of the latest annual survey of the size and health of the UK space industry; further welcomes the UK Space Agency's settlement in the allocation of science and research funding for 2011-12 to 2014-15; congratulates the sector on achieving growth figures of more than 10 per cent. on average over the last two years compared to national GDP growth of 0.3 per cent.; recognises that the space industry is a thriving and innovative hi-tech sector, contributing 6.5 billion a year to the UK economy and supporting up to 80,000 jobs; and calls on the Government to promote a beneficial regulatory framework, advance cooperation between the UK Space Agency and its overseas counterparts and continue its support for the UK's space sector.

Signatures by party: Conservative 11, Labour 11, Liberal Democrat 8, DUP 3, Independent 1, Social Democratic and Labour Party 1.