Sounds like a great idea, it inspires the kids, showcases the amazing engineering achievement that is spaceflight and helps to drum up electoral support for projects that are good photo opportunities for the politicians and makes voters feel good about their country
Sadly the likelihood of a European or even UK version of NASA tv isn’t looking very likely a few weeks after this blog’s clarion call for such a thing
So here’s the bad news, the European Space Agency doesn’t have any sort of broadcast licence and doesn’t plan to get one and is happy for the time being having an arrangement with the rolling news channel euronews
The British Broadcasting Company would not even do a dedicated science channel and it turns out that the UK’s digital terrestrial broadcast system Freeview is “tightly controlled” and the frequency spectrum is already allocated. Or maybe the problem will be rather like that which stymed US firm Hulu’s internet tv hopes for the UK?
Whatever the obstacles are outreach was a word heard often with the launch of the UK Space Agency but what will that be? A few school competitions? Can we expect the odd poster care of trade body UKSpace to raise awareness about the UK space industry, meaning that it does have one?
So what’s the good news? Well we’re about to enter a pretty turbulent political period here in the UK thanks to the self inflicted almost total destruction of our financial industry. That’s the good news?! Well yes, the UK’s ruling elite now knows we need manufacturing as much if not more than finance and no one can ignore that
Spaceflight is high tech engineering so it is going to be an open door to push on and an UKSAtv channel is one way of preparing a new generation to take up that challenge
Hello UKSpace, are you receiving me, over?
