As Canada loses its space agency head, the UK Space Agency gets a new one.Dr. David Parker has been appointed as the next Chief Executive of the UK Space Agency. He has been acting Chief Executive of the agency since December 2012, and will take up the role with immediate effect.
Parker has been involved in the UK space sector since 1990 having completed a PhD in aeronautics and astronautics at Southampton University. Parker previously worked for British Aerospace Space Systems as a propulsion and guidance, navigation and control (GNC) engineer and later in management and business development roles in EADS Astrium. He was seconded to the UK Space Agency’s predecessor, the British National Space Centre, between 1997 and 1999 to lead its space innovation projects. Between 2004 and 2010, he worked at the UK’s science funding council for space science.
