UK plan to launch rival to EU sat-nav system.

[ORAC]

I am very cynical that the constellation could be used as a replacement GPS system without replacing all the satellites with ones designed for purpose.

On the other hand, as the USA did with Iridium, the UK has a chance to acquire a large satellite comma system for pennies, and at the same time save it as a UK technology base rather than let it be snatched up by the USA, or worse China through who has companies asking to bid.

https://www.ft.com/content/50c3b6dc-...b-b24493315140

UK scales back plans for £5bn rival to Galileo satellite system

Ministers are set to scale back plans for a £5bn sovereign satellite navigation system — a project championed as a symbol of post-Brexit Britain — and are considering a groundbreaking alternative that would cost billions less and could draw US support.

Former prime minister Theresa May announced plans for a British rival to the EU’s Galileo system in 2018 when the UK was kicked out of the satellite project after Brexit; Boris Johnson endorsed the plan last year shortly after succeeding her. Mr Johnson’s allies confirmed the government was reviewing “Theresa May’s plan”, amid warnings about its high cost, but work is under way to see if Britain could develop a much cheaper satellite navigation capacity at a fraction of the estimated £5bn price.

Officials are exploring the potential for a system that would deliver the same civil and military tracking services as Galileo and GPS of the US while operating at a lower altitude and on a different frequency.

One option is to use OneWeb, the UK-licensed satellite operator that collapsed in March, as the platform for the new technology. Industry estimates say it would cost roughly $1bn to develop. OneWeb, which has 74 satellites in low earth orbit and plans for several hundred more, is further ahead on regulatory approvals than rivals, say several people close to the discussions. However, any such proposal would require government support for OneWeb, which is the focus of a bidding war after entering Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection three months ago. It would also require UK-based OneWeb to be sold to a British bidder.

Late last week Boris Johnson ordered ministers to move quickly to convene a meeting of the National Space Council, which has been in limbo since its launch a year ago, to fast-track decisions on a UK navigation service, as well as a series of other space-related initiatives. People close to the situation said no firm decision on the preferred option had yet been taken by the government and it remained “finely balanced”. But officials have consulted Airbus, the UK’s leading satellite maker, has confirmed that a low earth orbit navigation system could be developed at substantially lower cost.

Moreover, the US is pushing its partner in the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing alliance to avoid replicating the GPS system, said three people with knowledge of the situation. “The Americans do not think a British Galileo would be sufficiently different to GPS,” said one. “They understand the vulnerabilities of GPS. They want something technologically different.” US officials had been drawn to the idea that key navigation technology could be “hidden in plain sight” on up to 80 of OneWeb’s planned 648 satellites, making them harder to compromise, according to two people who held discussions with both US defence officials and the UK government.

In early March, Stuart Martin, chief executive of the Satellite Applications Catapult, told the Financial Times that while it would be challenging to develop this “cutting-edge” technology on satellites at low orbit, the UK had the expertise and it would be highly exportable. “This would offer something genuinely different that enhances GPS,” he said. “It is another way to achieve a global system at lower cost and it makes more economic sense.”

OneWeb, which has been locked in discussions with officials for several weeks, has pledged to move satellite production from Florida in the US to the UK if management wins government support for its bid. However, the company will also have to raise at least $1.5bn from private investors to fund the launch of the remainder of its satellites. The group was forced into bankruptcy protection after failing to secure funding from investors including its biggest backer SoftBank.

David Morris, the Tory MP who chairs the parliamentary space committee, said the UK should seize the opportunity to support OneWeb. “Commercial space is entering a new fast phase. I’m not sure it’s worth spending £5bn over eight years to build a ‘me too’ GPS service. The government could put a fraction of that into the LEO OneWeb system, securing a global commercial operation for the UK.”