Government backs down over plans to close Britain's 'eye in the sky' Jodrell Bank observatory

The historic radio dish - which detected the first signals from the Soviet Sputnik satellite in 1957 - had been threatened by savage spending cuts.

But a meeting of the astronomy and physics funding council this week agreed to back a key project - eMerlin, an upgrade that would keep the telescope going for another 10 years or more.

The historic Lovell Telescope at Jodrell Bank in Macclesfield has been saved from the scrapheap after public outcry

As part of a £2 billion funding package, the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) also agreed to invest in another observatory - the Square Kilometre Array to be built overseas - which will be led by Jodrell Bank.

The threat to the future of Jodrell Bank came after the STFC was ordered to find £80 million of savings.

Initially, the research council proposed axing the eMerlin project - despite having already spend £8milllion on an upgrade for Jodrell Bank.

But after a public outcry led by astronomer Patrick Moore, the STFC backed down.

'STFC has balanced its budget and agreed on a very ambitious and scientifically sound programme of funding, said chief executive Prof Mason.

'STFC is funding an exciting portfolio of  projects which will deliver excellent research and maintain the UK’s scientific leadership.'

The council is in talks with the University of Manchester, which runs Jodrell Bank.

'Some money' has now been offered, although more money is needed to guarantee the telescope's future.

The e-Merlin project links two telescopes at Jodrell Bank with dishes at Pickmere and Darnhall in Cheshire, Knockin in Shropshire, Defford in Worcestershire and one in Cambridge.

An upgrade of the network, connecting all the dishes with fibre optic cables as well as improving electronics and software is due to be completed next year.

Jodrell Bank began life when Sir Bernard Lovell installed some old army radar equipment at the site in 1945, with the iconic Lovell telescope opening in 1957.

A 250ft, fully-steerable radio telescope, it was the only one in the world capable of tracking Sputnik 1's carrier rocket and remains one of the biggest and most powerful radio telescopes.

A spokesman for the University of Manchester, which owns the Jodrell Bank site, said: 'The University is pleased to hear from the STFC that they recognise the scientific importance of the e-Merlin project and the Square Kilometre Array and that they are prepared to commit to funding them.

'We look forward to receiving details from the STFC of the funding package that they are proposing to make available to support these projects.'