Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what consultations, if any, they have undertaken with (1) the European Southern Observatory, (2) the Square Kilometre Array, (3) the Vera Rubin Observatory, and (4) other relevant research consortia, on the UK-led consortium’s acquisition of OneWeb.

As part of developing our bid and making the acquisition of OneWeb, the UK Government undertook appropriate due diligence.

OneWeb has met with the Royal Astronomical Society as well as representatives from the UK Space Agency and European Space Agency to discuss the potential impact of its operations on astronomy. We will continue to support this dialogue on an ongoing basis

BEIS and the UK Space Agency will continue to support the UK science and astronomy community in addressing this issue. The community is working with colleagues from the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS), the European Astronomical Society and the International Astronomical Union to clarify what actions could be taken to mitigate interference for the UK community and our international partners.

OneWeb has been engaging with the community and met with the RAS and representatives from the UK Space Agency in January. The RAS is now seeking further discussions with both Government and OneWeb to consider potential impacts on science and risk mitigations.