Artist’s rendition of satellites orbiting the Earth – rottenman/123RF Stock Photo
In the week that the UK have appointed our third Prime Minister in less than two months, Rishi Sunak, MP, has a large in-tray to deal with; not least providing economic stability, cost of living crisis, energy bill support, supporting the NHS and reducing waiting lists, war in Ukraine and many, many other items – one of which is the direction and support for the UK Space industry.
Minister for Science and Investment Security
Within the UK, the Minister for Science and Investment Security, often shortened to Science Minister, has overall responsibility for space strategy – although interestingly this does not include the OneWeb constellation. The role is also responsible for science and research; artificial intelligence; Horizon Europe; innovation strategy; technology, strategy and security amongst other roles. The current Science Minister is Nusrat Ghani, MP, who was appointed on the 7th September by former Prime Minister Liz Truss, following a three month vacuum as the previous Minister, George Freeman, MP, resigned on the 7th July as part of the flood of minsters resigning in protest at Boris Johnson’s premiership. Whether Nusrat Ghani remains Science Minister in Rishi Sunak’s cabinet remains to be seen?
After publishing this week’s blog, it was announced yesterday that Nusrat Ghani is indeed staying in her post as Minister for Science and Investment Security; however, confusingly it seems that the the previous Minister, George Freeman, has also been appointed as Minister for Science and Investment Security. Whether this means the job has been split, how it is divided or generally how this will work is still to be determined.
Whilst ministerial changes and vacancies do occur, the timing is unfortunate, to say the least, for the space sector. Firstly, the next European Space Agency (ESA) ministerial takes place in four weeks on the 22nd and 23rd November in Paris. The importance is that it is usually the Science Minister who represents the UK, with sector support, at these meetings. This means it is always helpful to have an interested and committed minister who fully understands the issues at the ministerial level to fight for what the UK wants. Changing Ministers is unhelpful as the industry often won’t know the Minister’s interest or views on the sector; and they may require briefings and explanations on the issues to ensure the sector is effectively represented. Of course, with two Science Ministers it is unclear which, or both, will attend the Ministerial.
Positively for the space sector, Science Minister Nusrat Ghani went to ESA’s Centre for Earth Observation last week, in her first overseas visit since her appointment, where she met with Josef Aschbacher, ESA Director General. As a previous a incumbent of the post, George Freeman, has experience and knowledge of the sector.
Given the lack of any agreement for UK involvement in Copernicus or other European Union space activities, the criticality of ESA programmes to the UK space sector cannot be underestimated. Next month’s ministerial will set the future strategic direction for ESA and the UK’s involvement in areas including science, exploration, navigation, and Earth observation. In September, it was reported that the funding ESA was intending to request from its member states would be 25% higher than in 2019, although how this will sit with countries struggling with ever growing cost-of-living crisis is unknown.
Importance of European Space Agency Work
The importance and benefit of the UK space sector was emphasised in a the report ‘Impact evaluation of UK investment in ESA’ published last week by the UK Space Agency on the 2019 investment programme. The reported highlighted that:
- Return on Investment for ESA is 1: 11.8, meaning for every £1M invested it generates a £11.80M return to the UK economy.
- Each £1M of investment generates almost 10 person years employment, suggesting that ESA’s work is critical to deliver sustainable employment in the sector.
- Innovation from working on ESA contracts generates new economic gains, with one third of ESA contractors reporting follow-on sales based on their work.
- Companies working on ESA contracts are generally based in the south of the UK, although Scotland does have a growing sector.
- ESA work contributes to aspects such as UK security, climate change assessment, and scientific publications amongst others.
Last week also saw the announcement of new £15 million competition for UK businesses focusing on innovation in the satellite communications ecosystem. The project will be run through ESA’s Advanced Research in Telecommunications Services (ARTES) programme, and is looking for ideas on everything from new satellite constellations and ground systems, through to new services for customers.
There is a lot happening at the moment, and whilst changing our Prime Minister every couple of months is unhelpful, it does not end there. We need stability for other Ministers too, enabling them to support UK industry sectors with enthusiasm and commitment, and help businesses weather the current economic conditions and look to a successful future.
