New Space Strategy to Strengthen UK Defences Against Space Threats

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

Safeguarding our national security and defence capabilities are the key pillars of a new strategy launched which puts the UK’s space sector to work in reindustrialising the country over the coming years.

Backed by a record £7.8 billion until 2030, the UK Space Strategy brings government’s space investment and activity under one plan to drive growth, strengthen security and back the technologies that underpin modern life.

It also recognises space as an increasingly important domain for keeping our country safe. Work to strengthen Space Domain Awareness – the study and monitoring of objects like satellites, rockets and debris orbiting our planet – is being backed by projects including £149 million for the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Vigil mission and £85 million for the National Space Operations Centre. UK funding will see British tech offer earlier warnings of potential satellite collisions, hostile activity and solar storms, helping protect the power, communications and navigation services people rely on every day.

Meanwhile £880 million will help beef up the UK’s space control and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities, funding technologies that can track military activity on the ground and potential attacks on satellites, meaning we can act quickly and decisively to protect our way of life on Earth and our assets in space.

A further £2.8 billion meanwhile will go towards strengthening connectivity, including the Connectivity in Low Earth Orbit and SKYNET defence communications programmes, which play a pivotal role in keeping our Armed Forces connected wherever they are in the world. 

These benefits will also be felt in everyday life, helping bring faster, more reliable connectivity to rural communities and reducing mobile signal dropouts on trains by using advanced satellite communications.

Together, these investments will help grow a UK space sector worth £18.6 billion and supporting over 55,000 skilled jobs – cementing Britain’s place as a global space leader from satellite services that underpin the economy to landmark missions such as the UK-built Rosalind Franklin Mars Rover.

Business, Innovation, Science and Trade Secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, said: “As space becomes a new frontier of economic and military competition, this plan will help keep Britain secure by strengthening our ability to launch satellites, detect threats and protect the services people rely on every day. 

“At the same time, this plan will enable our excellent UK industry to seize the boundless opportunities of this new age in space, creating skilled jobs, driving growth and improving connectivity for all of us.”

Defence Secretary, Wes Streeting, said: “This space strategy recognises that our national security depends on our freedom of action in space and, if necessary, the ability to protect UK and allied space assets. As threats in orbit grow more sophisticated, so must our ability to detect and respond to them, ensuring we protect the interests of the UK and allies while fuelling economic growth along the way.

“Backed by the Defence Investment Plan, we’re investing more than £3 billion to ensure our defence capabilities in space keep pace with the threats we face, supporting reindustrialisation and creating opportunities here in the UK.”

The Strategy also offers an opportunity to deliver the jobs and companies of the future, with £40 million to support pioneering in-orbit servicing, assembly and manufacturing technologies (ISAM). These will help repair and maintain satellites damaged by space debris, solar storms or hostile interference, while helping clear dangerous objects from orbit – all while continuing to operate in space.

That support will help bring new products online that are directly developed in the unique environment of space, from new semiconductors that underpin our power grid to pharmaceuticals and drug delivery tools that could transform outcomes for patients.

Additional support for the UK’s wide-ranging space sector includes:

• £148 million for European rocket programmes and £30 million for SaxaVord Spaceport in Shetland – helping Britain and our partners to launch satellites without relying on countries further afield while creating new jobs.
• £163 million in space science and exploration missions, including the delivery of the Rosalind Franklin Mars Rover built in Stevenage. These missions power world-leading research while boosting this government’s mission to reindustrialise the UK with high-skilled jobs and new tech in areas like AI and autonomous systems.
• £57 million from the Department for Transport to improve rail connectivity, £190 million from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) for astronomy and space science research, and £9 million from the Met Office to strengthen space weather forecasting.

For the first time, government will take a single approach to buying and developing space technology, starting with satellite communications, helping British firms win more work, strengthening UK supply chains, supporting skilled jobs and delivering capabilities faster and better value for taxpayers.

The new Strategy formally replaces the previous National Space Strategy, published in 2021, and will play a key role in the delivery of the Modern Industrial Strategy to deliver reindustrialisation and good growth in every postcode.

Alongside the Strategy, we’re reforming space regulations to reduce costs, reward responsible operators and make it easier for UK firms to invest in cutting-edge missions from satellite servicing to lunar exploration.