The strategy brings government space investment and activity under a single framework spanning defence, security and economic growth.
Published on 8 September and announced ahead of the International Space Summit in Paris, the Space Strategy is built around four priority areas: satellite communications, space domain awareness, in-orbit servicing, assembly and manufacturing, and assured access to space. It forms part of the government’s wider Modern Industrial Strategy.
Satellite connectivity accounts for £2.8 billion of the total, covering the UK Space Agency’s Connectivity in Low Earth Orbit (C-LEO) programme and the Ministry of Defence’s Skynet satellite communications system. A further £880 million is earmarked for space control and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities, alongside £149 million for European Space Agency space domain awareness projects. £30 million is set aside for SaxaVord Spaceport in Shetland, subject to due diligence, and £148 million for European rocket programmes.
Business, Innovation, Science and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds framed the strategy around space as “a new frontier of economic and military competition.”
Tim Hatt, head of research at GSMA Intelligence, said the strategy’s significance goes beyond its funding headline. “The UK’s new space strategy is about more than putting money into satellites. Done right, it can become part of a much wider industrial strategy, backing homegrown technology, creating opportunities for UK companies, and strengthening the country’s position in Europe’s fast-developing satellite ecosystem.”
Hatt pointed to the UK’s existing assets as a foundation to build on. “The UK has some valuable cards to play, from launch capabilities in Shetland, to domestic technology companies that can sell into European constellation providers. Closer integration with Europe would support the government’s wider ambitions for a stronger economic partnership with the continent, while also reducing the risk of becoming overly reliant on US-owned constellations such as Starlink for increasingly critical services spanning communications, weather monitoring, and defence.”
He linked the opportunity to the EU’s IRIS² programme, the bloc’s own sovereign multi-orbit satellite constellation initiative. “Our research shows that Europe currently accounts for around 15% of the telecoms-satellite partnerships we track globally, but we expect it will want to grow that share. Initiatives such as IRIS² show there is already a clear ambition to build greater European capability and resilience. The opportunity for the UK is to make sure it has a meaningful role in that ecosystem as it develops.”
RELATED STORIES
Europe launches IRIS2 satellites as war looms and Starlink threatens sovereignty
Capacity Europe 2026
The 25th anniversary edition of Capacity Europe 2025 will bring together 3,500+ decision-makers from the global connectivity and digital infrastructure community.
