The general policy of the British Government is to fund a project in proportion to the quantifiable return. The large ESA environmental satellite ENVISAT received a large chunk of cash from the UK government because it provides earth resources data to academia and industry. Beagle 2 received 7.8 million pounds from the UK government. The total cost is approx 40 million pounds. Envisat cost 1.5 Billion pounds and the UK government contributed 300 million pounds. However, it should be noted that Envisat was pan european.
I should point out that as a Brit working in the Space Industry I get frustrated at the lack of recognition of my countries’ achievements in this area. Most people I talk to on a first time basis are shocked to find that the UK has a Space industry. This is why I make sure Beagle gets a mention here.
p.s. Note my avatar is a BAC 111, a successful, entirely British Airliner.
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