Satellite Internet on trains and a national satellite communications system are among the proposals included in the UK Government’s new £7.8 billion ($10.5bn) National Space Strategy.. The strategy, released this week, lays out a number of key goals in the space industry to reinforce British national reindustrialization and national security.
It is supported by funds from the European Space Agency.. The new strategy replaces the previous National Space Strategy published in 2021 by the former Conservative regime, and will see £7.8bn ($10.5bn) invested by 2030, the government claims.. “This plan will enable our excellent UK industry to seize the boundless opportunities of this new age in space, creating skilled jobs, driving growth and improving connectivity for all of us,” said business, innovation, science and trade secretary, Jonathan Reynolds in a statement..
The new strategy cited a set of strategic priorities, including £148m ($200m) for “European rocket programs” and £30m ($40.5m) for native space launch from SaxaVord Spaceport in Shetland. £163m ($220m) was quoted for space science and exploration missions including the Rosalind Franklin Mars Rover built in Stevenage, space domain awareness, £9m ($12.1m) from the Met Office to strengthen solar weather forecasting, and the UK’s SKYNET defense communications programs.. At the Department for Transport, £57m ($77m) will be deployed to improve rail connectivity by connecting low Earth orbit (LEO) broadband capability to national rail services, by “reducing mobile signal dropouts on trains by using advanced satellite communications.”.
In May this year rail minister Keir Mather confirmed mainline train services in the UK will be connected by low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite WiFi by 2030, while a separate scheme, Project Reach, would install 1,000 kilometers of fiber to tackle 57 tunnel blackspots in the East and West Coasts and Great Western main lines. That pledge replaces a pledge made in 2017 to deliver 1Gbps broadband on mainline trains by 2025 that never happened..
A service provider is not listed as part of the plan, though OneWeb could be getting the call, the satellite constellation that the UK Government purchased a majority share of for $500m in July 2020, acquiring a golden share in the company, which it retains to this day despite the company merging with Eutelsat. The UK Government has never been forthcoming about what this golden share means.
At the time, the government justified its massive investment with promises that OneWeb would serve national interests as a “sovereign global satellite system.”. “OneWeb will contribute to the government’s plan to join the first rank of space nations, along with our commitment to making the UK a world leader in science, research and development,” read a July 2020 document from the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy..
Despite merging with a French company that was formerly state-owned, Eutelsat-OneWeb lists itself as being a London-based company on LinkedIn.. Another priority of the Strategy is £40m ($54m) to support in-orbit servicing, assembly and manufacturing technologies (ISAM). A deep-tech space robotics capability theoretically capable of repairing and maintaining satellites damaged by threats in space, clearing debris, and facilitating in-space manufacturing..
Most of the strategy leans on the defense end of dual-use falling in behind Europe’s enthusiastic push into national security priorities in space.. More in UK & Ireland. 06 Aug 2026.
01 Apr 2026. 22 Apr 2026. More in Space.
15 Jun 2026. 04 Aug 2026. 24 Jun 2026
