Satellites: Adverse Effects on Astronomy

Lord Vallance of Balham Excerpts

Wednesday 20th November 2024 Lords Chamber

[Viscount Stansgate (Lab)]

My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my name on the Order Paper. The updated register of interests will show that I am a member of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Dark Skies.

[The Minister of State, Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (Lord Vallance of Balham) (Lab)]

The Government recognise the importance of mitigating the adverse effects of satellites on astronomy. At this year’s United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, the UK played a key role in securing an agenda item on dark and quiet skies, focused on protecting optical and radio astronomy. The Government work with astronomers and industry to develop mitigation strategies, and remain committed to international collaboration on this issue.

[Viscount Stansgate (Lab)]

My Lords, I thank my noble friend for that Answer. This is a complex area because the sky is being filled with thousands of satellites —around 28,000 are currently going around the earth—and they interfere with astronomy in both the radio and the optical wavelengths. Mr Elon Musk personally controls two-thirds of all the active satellites going around the earth, having launched his 7,000th satellite this autumn, and he has plans for 34,000 more. Against this backdrop, can my noble friend the Minister be confident that major international astronomical facilities—such as the Square Kilometre Array, which is based in South Africa and Australia and is headquartered at Jodrell Bank here in the UK—can undertake their work without serious interference from large satellite constellations? If not, what can the Government try to do to mitigate this interference by working with satellite operators, astronomers and international partners?

[Lord Vallance of Balham (Lab)]

I thank my noble friend for the question. There is a 10% increase, year on year, in light pollution from land, and there is a substantial increase in the problem of radio and light interference from satellites, as my noble friend says. The number of satellites circulating was about 2,000 in 2019, but it is now well over 10,000 and projected to go very much higher. Because of that, we have pushed to get this very item discussed next year by the scientific and technical committee, which is a sub-committee of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, to try to make sure that there is an international approach to reducing the problem, including mitigation strategies for satellites that will be put up.

[Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton (Con)]

My Lords, the UK space sector is worth over £20 billion and employs about 50,000 people. The UK launched its first space strategy in September 2021, and the noble Viscount may be concerned to learn that the first point of its 10-point plan is to dominate the European satellite industry. Do the Government still support the space strategy published in 2021, or do they intend to review it?

[Lord Vallance of Balham (Lab)]

The cost of launch has come down by something like 95%. The UK remains committed to getting a launch and remains committed to the space strategy as laid out.

[Lord Clement-Jones (LD)]

My Lords, in that National Space Strategy, the previous Government focused on encouraging lower earth orbit satellites, which are increasingly contributing to the loss of dark skies, as we have heard. Will this Government focus on incentives for the development of higher-orbit satellites, such as geostationary satellites, particularly the micro versions, of which far fewer are needed? They offer the best cost economics, compared to LEO systems, and have a lower impact on the night sky.

[Lord Vallance of Balham (Lab)]

The noble Lord makes an extremely important point about the size of satellites, which is one of the problems with the interference from both radio and optical imaging. The smaller satellites, which the UK is extremely good at making, will become an increasing part of the solution. On orbit, we have a commitment to low orbit through the OneWeb approach—where there are about 700 in low orbit—and to higher orbit where it is appropriate to do so.

[Lord Cromwell (CB)]

My Lords, the global space industry is said to be worth about $500 billion. As we launch more and more material into space, which is largely unregulated, the orbits around this planet are getting clogged with blizzards of flying junk. A single bolt took out a French satellite not long ago. Does the Minister agree with me that the environment around our planet is every bit as important as the environment on our planet? Will he commit to raising public awareness of this underappreciated tragedy?

[Lord Vallance of Balham (Lab)]

My Lords, the question about the number of things circulating in space and the implications of that is very important indeed. The number of satellites projected to be launched by 2030 could be as high as 400,000, with estimates ranging from 50,000 to 400,000. This is a very big issue. The amount of space debris is increasing as well, which also contributes to the problem. The UK promotes the sustainable use of space and there is a range of initiatives, from regulation and standards to research, space observation and monitoring capabilities, as well as technologies for active debris removal and in-orbit servicing to try to make things last longer, all of which we will continue, along with the notion of satellite refuelling. This is a growing problem and one that we have raised with the United Nations body and will continue to do so.

[Lord Harris of Haringey (Lab)]

My Lords, I refer to my interests in the register as chair of the National Preparedness Commission. As an economy, we are increasingly reliant on positioning, navigation and timing signals from satellites in space. The Minister participated in the event organised by the Royal Institute of Navigation this morning, which I also spoke at. Could he share with us the Government’s plans around the vulnerability that our national economy and all our businesses will face if there is disruption to PNT signals, either because of space junk or solar activity, or malign activity by another nation? How well prepared are we to deal with those issues?

[Lord Vallance of Balham (Lab)]

This is a critical question. The Royal Institute of Navigation has recently—in fact, today—launched a paper on how to prepare for this. It is something that all critical national infrastructure will be urged to look at, to have a plan for what would happen in the event of GPS failure. There is a longer-term question about the alternatives to space-based navigation and there is active work going on in the UK on terrestrial approaches, including the use of quantum systems to try to get a robust secondary approach to PNT.

[Viscount Camrose (Con)]

My Lords, now that over 70 nations have their own space agency, how will the Government pursue the widest and most effective possible international co-operation in support of Astra Carta’s aim,

“to care for the infinite wonders of the universe”?

[Lord Vallance of Balham (Lab)]

There is a series of international collaborations in place. We are a member of the European Space Agency. A large proportion of the £1.9 billion of the UK Space Agency money goes to the European Space Agency and our collaborators there. We also spend through the MoD and through UKRI. We are members of the UN bodies that deal with the question of a sustainable space sector and space environment. The space environment is increasingly important and needs attention. We will continue to raise this question at the UN bodies.

[The Earl of Devon (CB)]

My Lords, what steps are the Government taking to ensure that we retain access to independent satellite launch capacity in the light of SpaceX’s close relationship with the next US Administration and the recent challenges at the Cornwall spaceport?

[Lord Vallance of Balham (Lab)]

The next UK launches are planned from Scotland, and several operators, including Orbex, Skyrora, and RFA are targeting orbital launches in 2025-26. The launch date depends on a range of factors, including technical readiness of launch operations, but we believe that we have a particularly important launch site which leads directly to polar orbit, which is of particular importance.

[Lord Hamilton of Epsom (Con)]

My Lords, I am very interested in the cost of satellites coming down quite so dramatically. Is this something to do with the private sector producing satellites much more cheaply than NASA used to do as a state-owned organisation?

--- Later in debate ---

[Lord Vallance of Balham (Lab)]

Launch has decreased in cost dramatically and so have satellites. A large part of the reduction in satellite cost has been the advent of small satellites. Surrey Satellite Technology, among others in the UK, has been particularly important in developing those technologies. That was a spin-out from the University of Surrey, and has led the way in producing much cheaper satellites. Multiple satellites can therefore be launched with one launch. That has been a very important change in the system.