Stephanie Ayres
Head of Policy, UKspace
If you turn up to play cricket with a tennis racquet, you won’t succeed. For any sector to thrive, it must use the right tools in the right context.
Reviewing the recent array of Government reviews (Spending Review, National Security Strategy, Industrial Strategy, Strategic Defence Review), space has been given a new kit bag of equipment to make us match-fit for the future.
UK space sector state of play
Our sector is characterised by three things: we are highly innovative and rely heavily on research and development; we are made up of a handful of large primes and a large number of SMEs supplying both civil and military customers; and space underpins £364 billion of wider UK GDP.
For space, £22.6 billion per year on R&D, an uplift to the National Wealth Fund, a focus on reshaping our sector and more money for defence and national security are good news. We are now digging into the kit bag to understand the new tools available to capitalise upon these opportunities.
What should these investments be directed towards?
Together with the Government, we have identified five priority capabilities, which enhance our national security and promise future growth:
- Satellite Communications: Enhancing capabilities to support commercial and national security needs.
- Position, Navigation and Timing (PNT): Developing robust solutions to ensure the UK’s strategic autonomy.
- In-orbit Servicing, Assembly and Manufacturing (ISAM): Pioneering technologies to extend the life of satellites and reduce space debris.
- Space Domain Awareness: Strengthening our ability to monitor and protect space assets.
- Space Data for Earth Applications: Building a resilient and secure data infrastructure to support space operations.
Coupled with these, in the Industrial Strategy, the Government said it would work with industry to “Develop the capability to reliably and independently launch satellites from UK soil. This will position the UK as one of the only nations in Europe able to deliver end-to-end satellite manufacture and launch within a single regulatory framework, delivering national security, defence and commercial benefits.”
With our priorities set and new financial and R&D levers to pull, we head into the next spending period better armed and prepared.
