UK Edition
Theresa May orders space race after Brexit with sat-nav system to rival EU's Galileo
Theresa May has ordered officials to start work on a British satellite-navigation system to rival the EU’s Galileo, in a show of strength as Brussels threatens to block the UK from its project.
The Telegraph understands that Philip Hammond, the Chancellor, has signed off funding amounting to as much as £100 million to "map out" plans for a post-Brexit UK satellite system, with an official announcement due this week.
The disclosure comes after European Commission claimed that to allow continued UK involvement in Galileo after Brexit would threaten the EU's security.
Graham Turnock, Chief Executive of the UK Space Agency told this newspaper that it looked increasingly unlikely that Europe would change its mind and grant access to Galileo, or allow British contractors to bid to help build future satellites.
Earlier this summer it emerged that some ministers were pushing for funds to begin work on the feasibility of a UK satellite-navigation system, amid the growing row with Brussels over access to Galileo.
Now this the Telegraph understands that Mr Hammond has signed off on as much as £100 million in funding after the project was sanctioned by Mrs May.
It is believed that the sum will come from a £3 billion fund announced by Mr Hammond at last year's Budget to help the Government to prepare for Brexit.
"We still want to be part of the Galileo project but we have got to prepare for all eventualities," a Whitehall source said.
The source confirmed that the funding was for "mapping out how a sovereign satellite system would work."
Britain has contributed 1.4bn euros (£1.2bn) to the EU's 30 satellite network, which once fully operational in 2020 will provide an alternative to the US GPS system and be used in everything from smartphones to security-critical military operations.
The Armed Forces are particularly keen to access Galileo because the US currently keeps back the best GPS service for its own military and the UK has been developing the network’s critical encryption software.
But the European Commission claims that it will damage security if Britain is granted access after Brexit and has begun to block the UK space industry from manufacturing the security elements of the satellite programme.
The Telegraph understands that the Government will announce contracts for a British alternative within the next few days.
Speaking at the launch of the British built Aeolus wind monitoring satellite at the European Spaceport in French Guiana, Mr Turnock, told The Telegraph: “There is obviously the question around Galileo. We would like to continue to participate and we’re disappointed by the approach that the Commission has taken.
“We would still like a good outcome on Galileo but the signs I’m afraid are not terribly positive given the position that the commission has taken to date.”
Science Minister Sam Gyimah and Business Secretary Greg Clark have already vowed that Britain will build its own system should the EU refuse to allow UK to participate in Galileo.
Early feasibility work has been underway into a UK system since the Spring and the UK Space Agency has said that a British alternative would be far cheaper than the 10 billion euro cost of Galileo because most of the work has already been done in Britain.
The government is also threatening to claw back the £875 million that has already been spent on the system.
But there are fears that Galileo is just the beginning, and Britain will be excluded from other European critical satellite systems, such as the Copernicus Earth Observation Programme, which is coordinated and managed by the European Commission.
Once complete Copernicus will see a constellation of around 20 satellites placed in orbit by 2030 to monitor climate change, the weather, Earth’s atmosphere, crop production, marine life and provide eyes in the sky during emergencies such as wildfires and flooding.
“We’re hopeful that the same approach won’t be taken on Copernicus,” added Mr Turnock, who this week met with the ESA’s Director of Earth Observation programmes Josef Ashbacher to discuss the situation.
“Copernicus is a much more open programme by design, the Canadians and Australians are already partners in it so it’s difficult to see why the UK couldn’t be a part of that programme going forward if we could reach a sensible agreement with Europe.
“We’re trying to be rational, we haven’t been put off by the stance that has been taken on Galileo and and look for a good outcome on Copernicus.”
However, industry experts are confident that Britain will not be excluded from European Space Agency projects, which sit apart from the European Union.
Richard Wimmer, Project Manager of the Aeolus satellite at Airbus in Stevenage, said: “Britain is still a very very key player in ESA which is a separate organisation to the European Union, so we will still remain a member of ESA, and a very large member, in terms of contribution.
“With the expertise that the UK has built up we are a big part of the European space industry, so even on the European Union programmes are presence will be vital, so I think they will find ways to include us because I think they need us.
“Even on the Galileo, the payload was developed in the UK so the fundamental technology is coming from the UK. So they’ve got to find a way round that. You can’t say the UK can’t any longer be involved when we own the technology.”