The Members of Parliament have described the UK's approach to space policy as “uncertain and disjointed”, despite the industry's £16bn valuation.
The Committee has said it is “concerned” that the first-ever UK satellite launch has been plagued by licensing delays and has raised doubts regarding the benefits of the taxpayer-funded £400m stake in OneWeb.
The government's investment in the satellite company – as part of a consortium with India's Bharti Global – was announced in July 2020 and described as a means to rescue the company from bankruptcy. At the time, the move was seen as an attempt to give the UK a platform in the highly coveted low Earth orbit (LEO) space, providing internet connections for businesses and governments around the world.
However, the committee said success from the "unusual" investment is yet to be seen and urged the government to use its "golden share" – which gives it special voting rights – to seek...