The Space Economy (UK Engagement with Space Committee Report)

Baroness Mobarik Excerpts

Thursday 9th July 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Mobarik (Con)]

My Lords, it is a pleasure to contribute to this debate on the report of the UK Engagement with Space Committee. Before turning to the substance of the report, I pay tribute to our chair, the noble Baroness, Lady Ashton of Upholland, my fellow committee members and our wonderful clerks, Sabrina and Scott.

This was one of those inquiries where the process itself was immensely rewarding. We embarked upon it not as experts in the field but as colleagues united by a desire to learn, a fascination with the opportunities and challenges of space, and a shared commitment to producing a report that could make a meaningful contribution to policy. What we lacked in technical expertise we certainly made up for in curiosity, enthusiasm and a genuine passion for the subject. I thank the many witnesses who gave evidence. Their generosity with their time, knowledge and experience made this a remarkable journey of discovery for us all and greatly enriched our understanding of the issues before us.

The report covers a wide range of important matters, from skills and regulation to investment, innovation and international co-operation. All deserve careful consideration. However, today I will focus on what I believe is one of the most strategically important issues facing the United Kingdom space sector: sovereign launch capability.

Space is no longer the preserve of scientists and explorers but an essential component of our economic prosperity, national security and daily lives. As geopolitical competition intensifies and our reliance on space-based infrastructure grows, assured access to space becomes ever more important. We have world-class expertise in satellite design, engineering and advanced manufacturing, but we remain dependent on others to place our assets into orbit. That dependence creates vulnerabilities and limits our ability to respond rapidly to both commercial opportunities and national security requirements.

If there is one conclusion I have drawn from this inquiry, it is that the United Kingdom must think and act with greater ambition. We cannot afford to be timid in our endeavours. We should not be content with a single launch location or place all our hopes in one facility. Resilience requires redundancy. In every other area of critical national infrastructure, we recognise the importance of back-up systems and alternative capabilities. Access to space should be no different. A nation serious about the ability to launch from its own soil should seek to develop more than one operational spaceport, ensuring flexibility, resilience and continuity in the face of technical, commercial or geopolitical disruption.

I recognise that funding is never straightforward. Public finances are under pressure and competing priorities are many, but transformative national projects are rarely achieved through conventional thinking. If we believe that sovereign access to space is of strategic importance, we should be prepared to explore innovative partnerships between government, industry and private investors. There are creative ways to unlock investment if there is clarity of purpose, confidence in the vision and a determination to succeed.

On joining the National Resilience Select Committee this year, I have become even more convinced that independent access to space should be viewed as an element of our national security architecture. Space is no longer a peripheral concern: it underpins communications, navigation, intelligence gathering, defence capability and the critical services that sustain modern economies. The ability to place assets into orbit from our own soil is not simply an industrial or commercial ambition; it is a matter of national readiness and strategic security.

An example of that ambition would be completing the development of the Sutherland spaceport. Some £7.5 million of public funds had already been invested in that project before being put on hold, and it requires a similar sum and a mere seven months to complete. Failing to finish the project would risk wasting the investment already made and denying the United Kingdom a strategically important capability. I refer Members to my declared interest, as outlined in the report.

Sutherland’s location on the mainland was considered one of its major advantages—both practical and safe. Sutherland should not be judged simply as a regional project, but as a part of the United Kingdom’s strategic infrastructure. We build such infrastructure because it provides capability, resilience and security. The economic benefits to the region and nation follow.

A self-reliant space nation should have complementary capabilities, not competing ones. Different launch sites can serve different missions, payloads and orbital requirements. Multiple operational spaceports can provide the redundancy and flexibility that any serious national infrastructure demands. Through my work on the National Resilience Select Committee, I have become convinced that spaceports, alongside our ports, airports and naval bases, should now be regarded as part of our critical national infrastructure. Will the Minister accept that resilience requires more than one operational spaceport to provide the necessary redundancy and flexibility?

Space capability cannot be created overnight. If we postpone decisions until demand is overwhelming or the next crisis arrives, we will already be too late. If we are serious about our national resilience, we must also be serious about assured access to space. This report sets out the opportunity and the urgency before us. I hope the Government will seize that opportunity and act with the pace that our national security and future prosperity demand.