As the possibility of a no-deal Brexit scenario increases, and the government publishes its “no-deal preparedness” notices, it is worth taking stock of the sheer variety of problems that would arise with a no-deal Brexit – and the devastating consequences that would arise from such a legal limbo. Here’s what we know so far.
Sir Martin Sweeting said the UK's decision to leave the European Union affected work with the Galileo space programme "quite dramatically".
Europe's space leaders seek to boost sector in light of Brexit, COVID and international competition
11/01/2021
The European Space Conference in Brussels takes place this week, so Euronews spoke to European Space Agency Director General Jan Wörner about the challenges the sector faces in 2021.
The UK's final big industrial contribution to the EU's Galileo sat-nav system has been delivered.
UK’s £5bn ‘vanity project’ sat-nav system scrapped with government urged to rejoin EU scheme
21/09/2020
A government-backed satellite project to rival the EU’s has been scrapped and labelled nothing more than a “vanity project” by a former Tory defence minister.
Brexit Britain will be 'lost in space'
04/03/2019
One of the UK's most successful space entrepreneurs has launched a withering attack on Brexit, labelling it "galactic scale stupidity".
I was hoping that I wouldn’t need to talk about the incredible, excruciating UK referendum on European Union membership, but as the result has gone to the “leave” campaign, I feel obliged to pick over the wreckage. What does a UK exit from the EU mean for EU space programmes and Galileo in particular?
UK’s Rival to Galileo - A Brexit Farce
30/07/2020
The sorry tale of Britain’s as-yet-unnamed rival to the EU’s Galileo programme took another unexpected, miserable and hugely expensive turn in the past few days.
Brexit means that Britain will lose access to two vital EU satellite programmes. They deliver key communications technologies to power Theresa May’s vision for a 4th industrial revolution. The loss of British participation in Galileo and Copernicus will undoubtedly affect British industry
Even in outer space the effects of Brexit are being felt! It’s worth a closer look at the impact Brexit would have on the UK space sector — a political afterthought today.
The UK government’s plan to invest hundreds of millions of pounds in a satellite broadband company has been described as “nonsensical” by experts, who say the company doesn’t even make the right type of satellite the country needs after Brexit.
Senior British civil servants are reportedly urging government ministers to abandon plans to build the UK’s own global navigation satellite system (GNSS), arguing that the proposed £5 billion project is “unaffordable” amid the economic devastation being wrought by the Coronavirus pandemic.
Nestled among the mass publication of no-deal guidance yesterday was the UK government's vision for the future of the Brit satellite and space programmes if the country falls out of the EU with no pact in March. The guidance is, unsurprisingly, grim.
Space Oddity - Clive Simpson
18/01/2021
THE fact that the European Union (EU) is consolidating its space programmes under a new agency that is being given an expanded mandate is not particularly good news for the UK space industry - at least as long as the current Johnson government remains in power.
British attempts to rival the European's Galileo satellite navigation system - hailed as a symbol of post-Brexit independence - has floundered after a series of disagreements over the costly space project.
I work in Brussels alongside the EU Brexit negotiators and I find it incredible how little the UK government understands
25/05/2018
Are we really being serious when we ask the EU to give the UK, as a third country, the same level of access as a member to sensitive information like satellite development and criminal databases?
The EU’s Galileo GPS system went live in December, but the UK will now have to negotiate, and pay for, access to it. / Brexit could leave the UK out of new EU-wide global positioning system (GPS) that went live in December after more than 15 years in development, with much of the cutting-edge work having been carried out by British companies.
‘Unacceptable’ lack of progress on alternative to EU’s Galileo project after Brexit, says committee.
PM and chancellor back purchase of 20% stake in troubled US operator OneWeb.
EU orders next-generation Galileo satellites
20/01/2021
The European Commission has handed down industrial contracts worth a total of €1.47bn (£1.31bn; $1.97bn) to build the next generation of Galileo satellites.
Ministers reportedly exploring alternatives to plan announced in 2018 to build rival to EU’s Galileo project.
Ministers spent £64m on post-Brexit ‘British GPS’ scheme before it was abandoned and shut down
13/10/2020
The UK Space Agency rented premium office space on a six-year lease before the programme was ended in September.