https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/b...race-6v783gzj2
Britain puts $500m into satellite race
Boris Johnson is poised to secure the $500 million part-purchase of an American satellite operator as the first step in creating Britain’s own sovereign system to rival the EU’s Galileo.
The prime minister and Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, signed off the purchase of a 20 per cent stake in OneWeb, an operator of low-earth orbit satellites, last night. Although the government technically is making a bid for the stake, British officials said the transaction was at “a very advanced stage”.
OneWeb, which has its headquarters in Britain, filed for bankruptcy in March partly because of the pandemic. Other states, including China, are believed to have been interested in taking a stake. The firm already has 74 of a planned 650 satellites in orbit and claims to be able to deliver broadband and military and civilian GPS on completion......
Senior ministers were being briefed on the purchase at a special meeting of Cobra last night. It is not yet clear whether the relocation of OneWeb’s satellite manufacturing from Florida to Britain was a condition of the government taking a stake.
Airbus is likely to emerge as supplier of the low-earth satellites in any network, industry sources said. It is unclear when the purchase will be made, but it is understood that Alok Sharma, the business secretary, has been tasked with completing the deal.
The purchase of OneWeb will be intended as a statement that Mr Johnson remains committed to a sovereign system despite the ravages of the pandemic. A well-placed source warned that the purchase was “messy”, however, and may not provide best value for money. An industry expert said: “We probably won’t ever know whether it’s a good deal or not.”