The science and innovation minister, Ian Pearson, praised satellite firm Eads Astrium on a visit to its Hilsea headquarters yesterday.

In a climate of economic gloom, he said one of the highest-performing sectors in Britain was the space industry, now growing at a rate of 15 per cent a year – faster than the Chinese economy.

Mr Pearson also welcomed the firm's recruitment drive, which has seen 120 people hired since the end of the year, and will see another 90 shortly.

The minister said: 'Satellites and space technology are big business for the UK, worth around £7bn to the economy and employing about 70,000 people, and Astrium is a world leader in that field. It brings high-quality jobs to Portsmouth, of which about two-thirds are graduates. As a government we want to continue to work with the industry as a whole to promote that.'

Astrium has recently completed the Ministry of Defence's Skynet communication satellites.