IMechE CEO Alice Bunn meets King Charles at Space Sustainability Event

Our CEO Dr Alice Bunn met HM King Charles at Buckingham Palace where he launched the “Astra Carta” framework to inspire sustainability across the space industry.

The King unveiled the Astra Carta seal, which displays the words “To care for the infinite wonders of the universe”, in front of astronauts, business leaders, environmentalists and scientists during a Space Sustainability Event at Buckingham Palace.

Alice, who is also President of UKspace which represents the UK space industry, said:

“Space pollution is a growing problem with millions of pieces of debris in orbit making it increasingly risky to operate satellites in space. This is only going to get worse unless sustainability is engineered in to satellites as a core principle. Modern lives are reliant on space technology and the UK industry is leading the global effort to develop innovative technologies to identify, avoid and ultimately clean up debris.”

In 2022, The King (as The Prince of Wales) announced an ambition for his Sustainable Markets Initiative to create an ‘Astra Carta’ to act as a framework to inspire sustainability across the space industry.

The Astra Carta aims to convene the private sector in creating and accelerating sustainable practices across the global space industry. It also recognises the unique role that space can play in creating a more sustainable future on Earth and the need for the space industry to consider environmental and sustainability impacts beyond our planet.

Before the event at Buckingham Palace, Alice took part in a Space Sustainability Symposium at the Royal Society, hosted by the Minister of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, George Freeman.