A
s more and more countries look to grow their space capabilities and global market share, the quest for talent and innovation has become more urgent. In his keynote,
Dr Bleddyn Bowen, associate professor of astropolitics at Durham University and co-director of the Space Research Centre, set the political scene. Bowen started off by sharing how Britain’s space
industry was once on a similar trajectory as France during the early Cold War, focused on nuclear and military ambitions before diverging in the 1960s. “Both countries were using their imperial and colonial territories to test rockets and nuclear bombs, so the imperial and colonial dimensions are very important for understanding Britain’s history in space and the shape of its position today,” said Bowen. By the end of the Cold War, the UK became heavily
dependent on the US for military and security space architecture and intelligence, with its commercial and industry side heavily integrated with Europe up until the mid-late 2010s. While Bowen described how the UK may still be caught in a “binary system” that is in some ways still dependent on the US for military security, intelligence and space capabilities, he also stated that today the picture is different. “The UK government is more interested in space than it has ever been, with a conscious era of policy making in the last 10–15 years. Space has become much more institutionalised as an area of policy for security, industry, science and critical infrastructure.” Bowen cited several ambitious UK policy documents.
This includes the 2024 ‘UK Space Industrial Plan’ and strategic plans for space expansion in Scotland and Wales, with a distinct focus on science, engineering and technology. “While Britain is not by any measure the biggest power in space, it has a lot of strength and influence. However, so do many other states – the US and China for instance are in a league of their own. Russia, Japan and India also have significant infrastructure,” said Bowen.
THE UK’S POSITION IN THE RACE FOR SPACE In terms of its position in the global space race, Bowen shared that the UK falls under the US, China, Russia, Japan, France, Italy and Germany when it comes to civil space, satellite communications and Earth observation, but noted the UK’s privileged position with the US. Comparing the UK space industry to the rest of Europe, Bowen shared how the UK is developing as a wider space power and is now the fourth largest contributor to the European Space Agency (ESA). However, uncontrollable external factors will
continue to impact the UK’s space industry and its plans for growth, including the US elections, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and other US and EU integration and dependencies. Bowen highlighted the importance of France as a
big player in space, with its own launch sector, growing industrial capacity and increased military space investment, suggesting the UK might learn some growth lessons from it. He cited several other opportunities for the UK in space. These included extra transatlantic opportunities with South Korea and Japan and the importance of the UK learning lessons from Ukraine on the increasing role of advanced space systems in conflict.
“ WHILE BRITAIN IS NOT BY ANY MEASURE THE BIGGEST POWER IN SPACE, IT HAS A LOT OF STRENGTH AND INFLUENCE.“
DR BLEDDYN BOWEN, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF ASTROPOLITICS, DURHAM UNIVERSITY & CO-DIRECTOR OF THE SPACE RESEARCH CENTRE
11
GLOBAL LEADERSHIP
SPACE SE CTOR
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