FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF HUMAN SPACEFLIGHT

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.