Information released to Space Watch UK under the Freedom of Information Act reveals a close partnership between the civilian UK Space Agency (UKSA) and Ministry of Defence (MoD) in delivering the UK's military space programme. Meetings took place on around 130 occasions during 2024 between executives from the UKSA delivery board – the senior leaders responsible for managing and delivering Space Agency activities - and representatives of the MoD, including one about a top-secret national security project.
Diary entries for members of the UKSA Delivery Board provided in response to a Freedom of Information Act request (see below) disclose a year of liaison and joint working aimed at advancing the UK’s military space capabilities. The entries give an insight into unprecedented levels of co-operation between the Space Agency, purportedly responsible for the UK's civil space programme, and the MoD. Regular meetings took place with top military officers and discussions were also held on government involvement in the SaxaVord spaceport in the Shetland Islands, satellite communications projects, and collaboration with the US military and NATO.
The information released by the Space Agency shows that the agency works hand-in-hand with the Ministry of Defence to integrate military capabilities into space programmes over virtually the entire remit of the Agency's work – launch programmes, satellite communication, earth observation, and international co-operation.
The diary meetings include regular catch-ups, get-to-know-you-meetings, and lunches between UKSA Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Paul Bate and the two deputy CEOs Annelies Look and Chris White-Horne, and Major General Paul Tedman, who was appointed as Commander of UK Space Command in May 2024. Before taking over the top role at UK Space Command Tedman served as deputy director for policy and strategic partnerships at US Space Command headquarters as an exchange officer under US command for a two-year term from 2021 – 2023.
A meeting on 27 September between Tedman, Bate, and UKSA Board Member Rebecca Evernden focused on the Strategic Defence Review (SDR), a MoD-led assessment of UK security priorities. Other top level liaison included a meeting between Bate and Deputy Chief of Defence Staff Air Marshall Harvey Smyth and quarterly catch-up meetings between Bate and Air Marshal Paul Lloyd, Deputy Chief of the Air Staff.
Numerous meetings took place between Space Agency executives and more junior MoD personnel, and regular 'Quad' dinners and briefings aimed at aligning military and civil space projects took place – four-way get-togethers between UKSA, MoD, Space Command and the Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology. The two UKSA Deputy CEOs took part in a 'Space Defence Civil Alignment Senior Meeting' in May 2024.
Intriguingly, information about one meeting between space agency executives and MoD personnel which references “an area of work which is highly confidential and not in the public domain” was withheld from disclosure by UKSA on the grounds of safeguarding national security.
Two meetings involving MoD and UKSA staff took place to discuss the SaxaVord spaceport, which the government hopes will be the site from which the first small satellite is launched from Europe. A meeting in January 2024 involving Paul Bate discussed next steps for the government with regard to SaxaVord, and in same month the Missions and Capability Director for Launch, Matt Archer, discussed funding from SaxaVord from the government's National Security Strategic Investment Fund. A number of other briefings and updates on UK launch proposals took place over the course of the year, including a meeting between Orbex, the Scottish based satellite launch company planning to develop the mothballed Sutherland Spaceport, MoD, UKSA, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the Department for Transport.
Archer was also involved in a number of discussions on the NATO STARLIFT and NORTHLINK proposals to deliver military space technologies. NORTHLINK is exploring the development of a secure, multinational Arctic satellite communications capability. The STARLIFT initiative is investigating ways to strengthen NATO’s access to space, for example by helping NATO nations to launch satellites at short notice, manoeuvre a pre-positioned spare spacecraft or buy data from commercial partners during wartime. At a NATO Ministerial meeting in October 2024 Defence Secretary John Healey signed a letter of intent on co-operation with NATO members allowing them to use UK spaceports and launch vehicles.
The Space Agency was also actively involved in dialogue with the US government about spaceports and launch operations, with Archer meeting representatives from the US Embassy and involved in discussion about international spaceport collaboration with the the US Space Force.
The diary logs show that UKSA executives meet regularly with the arms industry to discuss space issues. Quarterly 'Quad' meetings with were scheduled with arms companies BAE Systems and Airbus alongside other government departments, and also with satellite communications company Viasat which carries a significant amount of military traffic. Meetings also took place with Thales Alenia Space, a a joint venture between the French and Italian arms corporations Thales Group and Leonardo. UKSA Missions and Capabilities Director for Earth Observation and Low-Earth Orbit Assets, Harshbir Sangha, took part in a workshop on satellite communications company OneWeb.
Other discussions on satellite communications centred on plans to renew the UK's SKYNET military communications satellite network. Craig Brown, UKSA's Investment Director took part in two meetings relating to SKYNET and UKSA directors joined cross-Whitehall meetings, workshops, and 'virtual huddles' on satellite communications strategy planning.
Another area where UKSA is working alongside MoD personnel is the use of nuclear power as an energy source for space propulsion. CEO Paul Bate and Deputy CEO Annelies Look each took part in a cross-government meeting on space nuclear and a roundtable on UK space nuclear.
Paul Bate also attended a meeting of the National Space Council, a Cabinet sub-committee which co-ordinates the UK’s space programmes and pushes the growth of the space sector. The Space Council's remit includes national security, and the Defence Secretary and Secretary Foreign Secretary are both members. The two Deputy CEOs for Programme Delivery both attended officials' meetings relating to the Council. The CEO and Deputy CEOs also attended meetings of the National Space Board, which oversees and co-ordinates programme delivery by MoD and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.
The UKSA and the UK's military space programme are also intertwined through other channels of liaison. Two Non-Executive Members of the UK Space Agency's Board of Directors are associated with the MoD. Kevin Shaw is listed in the Agency's Register of Directors' Interests as a consultant and strategic advisor to the MoD and Skynet 6 programme, as well as an associate and consultant to military technology company Anduril Systems and Global Security and Disaster Management Ltd. His LinkedIn page also highlights work in “Leadership roles within UK Strategic Command”.
Peter Watkins is listed as an advisor on specific projects for MoD and the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory for arms company QinetiQ. He is also a member of the council of advisors and the Centre for Defence Economics and Acquisition at military consultancy RAND Europe. Both Shaw and Watkins are members of the UK Space Agency Audit and Risk Assurance Committee as well as the Board of Directors.
A former commanding officer at UK Space Command explained the importance of the UK Space Agency to military space programmes in a July 2022 interview with Space News magazine, stating that the UK government does not separate civil and military space initiatives in the way that the United States does. Air Commodore (now Air Vice-Marshal) Mark Flewin, then Head of Operations, Plans and Training at Space Command said that “I think one of the really key points for us is that defence and civil space are not separable. They very much work hand in glove.
Space launch is one area considered important for defence purposes, and Air Commodore Flewin said that Space Command is hugely supportive of efforts by the UK Space Agency to launch satellites from the UK. “Our civil partners are leading the enterprise, and we are very much in a supporting role,” he said.
Military historian Sir Lawrence Freedman has pointed out that “space technologies were developed not for the collective benefit of humankind but for their military applications”. Although the space industry presents itself as being about science, discovery, and inspiration, the reality is that much of the work in the sector is military related. Space technologies were born out of weaponry developed by the Nazis in World War Two, and nowadays these technologies are still being developed largely for their military applications. The Freedom of Information records released by the UK Space agency show that the military is involved in virtually every aspect of the UK's space programme: spaceports and launch; communication and observation satellites; and relations with industry and international partners.
More transparency is needed from the UK Space Agency about co-operation with the Ministry of Defence, and a re-focus on the Agency's goals of understanding the universe and outer space is urgently required.
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