UK Space Industry

Carol Monaghan Excerpts

Thursday 4th February 2021 Commons Chamber

[Carol Monaghan (Glasgow North West) (SNP) [V]]

I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Midlothian (Owen Thompson) for bringing forward this important debate. I also declare an interest as a vice-chair of the parliamentary space committee.

Over the last decade, the space industry has become one of the UK’s fastest-growing sectors. It currently employs almost 42,000 people and generates £15 billion annually. In Scotland, we are rightly proud of our thriving space industry. Three miles from where I am sitting is the heart of Europe’s small satellite industry, and Scotland’s space port sites offer great potential—it was good to hear from so many Members who represent those sites this afternoon. Glasgow University and Strathclyde University are training future space physicists and engineers, and the Scottish physics curriculum has been tailored towards space.

Many Members have spoken enthusiastically about the space industry this afternoon, but enthusiasm alone will not enable the industry to exploit its full potential. In the UK there is a lack of leadership and co-ordination between the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the Ministry of Defence. Other countries—notably the US, China and India—are developing space technologies as a fourth arm of their armed forces. So the first priority for the UK is to have a credible space strategy that makes long-term investment possible.

It is also important to recognise that space is set to get crowded. Anywhere humanity goes, we take our ambitions and rivalries, and space is no different. The national and commercial race for space power and profit is back, and many are seeing the economic potential and defence necessities in space-based capabilities. Just to illustrate that, SpaceX has launched 1,000 new satellites in the last year alone. In this crowded commercial domain, companies will launch according to where the regulations are most supportive of the industry.

So where does that leave the UK? Well, there are a number of issues that we need to address. The licensing requirements under the Space Industry Act 2018 include complex regulation that must be simplified to avoid large administrative costs for licence applicants. The third-party liability insurance costs are a major challenge for small satellite operators. These costs are excessively high and, as my hon. Friend the Member for Central Ayrshire (Dr Whitford) has already explained, disproportionate to the low risks associated with this class of satellite.

Currently, one company is leaving the UK every month to launch elsewhere, and many more are electing not to come to the UK in the first place. This threatens the future of the UK’s small satellite sector and its wider supply chain, which needs focused Government support. A new insurance model is required for UK companies to remain competitive in the global market, and for the Government to leverage its space sector investments, including in launch sites and manufacturing facilities. The UK has a well-established earth observation capability, but there is growing competition. Other companies have significant national programmes and clear earth observation data and security policies, which enable greater investment certainty. Data exporters from the UK are disadvantaged because of the lack of such a policy, so that needs to be looked at urgently. As others have mentioned, the technology safeguard agreement between the US and the UK was entered into last June without consultation or scrutiny. That could be unreasonably restrictive to members of the UK industry, for example, if a company were to obtain a component from a country outside the missile technology control regime. It may also prevent companies from other countries coming to the UK to use launch facilities.

For informed policy to be developed—a policy that supports the industry—there must be suitably experienced regulatory staff to allow informed decisions to be made that take into account the global nature of the industry and enable UK operators to compete in this crowded global environment. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy drives innovation that is critical for other sectors and has an invaluable contribution to make to global challenges, such as climate change. We do have a thriving sector, but now we must develop a clear strategy with a supportive licensing policy to ensure that our ambitions are realised and our launch capability becomes a reality.