To infinity and beyond! Management and staff at Goonhilly Earth Station may well have a 'Toy Story' of their own following the news that Goonhilly could play a vital role in the European Space Agency's Orion exploration mission 1 in 2018. Goonhilly Earth Station is establishing itself once more as one of the most important space facilities on the planet and the news that it has taken a step closer to supporting moon mission is a great accolade to the team on site. The hard graft required by the Goonhilly team to get this far cannot be overstated. You can get a glimpse of what it means to them when the CEO Ian Jones says "We are delighted to have won this ESA contract and are excited by the prospect of Goonhilly playing a significant role for the UK in future space missions to the moon and beyond.”
Creating new skilled jobs is all well and good if we have the people with the skills and interest to take up these posts. The new owners of the Goonhilly Earth Station are seeking to address this challenge by inspiring students from Helston College and further afield through a week long programme of work experience. Activities focused on STEM (Science , Technology, Engineering and Maths) in a practical setting and included setting up a ground station for a satellite and computer coding.
The announcements made last week by the Prime Minister in relation to the Cornwall Deal are essentially a commitment by public and private sector organisations to work together to bring responsibility of a few key areas closer to home. The main areas in question are Cornwall's transport, health and social care in Cornwall and on the Isles of Scilly, the development of the skills and jobs agenda and the transfer of assets (public buildings). Organisations including the Government, Cornwall Council, Kernow Clinical Commissioning Group, the Local Enterprise Partnership and in part, the Council of the Isles of Scilly will now begin to put the flesh on the bones. This is very much a lay-person's description of what is intended and does not include everything or everyone. We are at the early stages and much more information will follow.