In the 17th century, Galileo Galilei upset a lot of powerful people by demonstrating that the universe did not, in fact, revolve around them. Four hundred years later, the European Union satellite navigation system named after him is having the same effect.
This time it is the British government which has been knocked from its pedestal. With Brexit looming, EU officials in Brussels recently announced that the UK will no longer be eligible to bid for lucrative contracts to build the ground control systems and backup satellites for Galileo, the EU version of the US GPS. The UK will also be denied access to the encrypted Galileo signal intended for government users. British ministers were incandescent, threatening legal action to recover the €1.4 billion the UK has invested so far in Galileo.
Yesterday it emerged that prime minister Theresa May could go a step further: she wants the UK to explore building its own . Galileo’s history suggests this is foolish.
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From the outset, the EU’s satellite array found it hard to get off the ground. Lambasted as a political vanity project, it struggled to secure funding. The US opposed the idea of a competing satellite navigation system, particularly one that any civilian could use – perhaps to launch missiles at US targets. A compromise saw protocols added that would allow the US (and the EU) to block unencrypted civilian access to Galileo in crisis situations.
Late and over budget
The system finally switched on in late 2016, heavily delayed and costing more than triple the original budget of €3 billion. There are still four more satellites to launch before the system is completely operational, and a rash of technical problems has hit those already in orbit, including the failure of nine atomic clocks across five satellites.
So why would the UK want to start afresh with its own system? Claims that the country’s national security will be jeopardised by the EU’s obstinacy are overblown: as a NATO ally, the UK already has access to the encrypted GPS signal. It seems probable that the UK can reach a similar agreement with the EU over Galileo post-Brexit.
The reality is that the UK is probably more motivated by happenings on the ground than in orbit. The estimated that Galileo would be worth £14.2 billion to the UK economy between 2013 and 2025, predominantly through satellite manufacture and the wider aerospace industry.
But with doubts circulating over the UK’s continued involvement in Galileo, aerospace firms are already relocating to mainland Europe and forming consortiums to bid for the next round of Galileo contracts. In its remaining months as an EU member, the UK can buy time by blocking any new procurements, but it will be fighting a losing battle. By the time an agreement for it to stay within Galileo is hammered out, it will be too late to coax these firms back. Suggesting that the UK’s own lucrative contracts are just around the corner appears to be a desperate tactic to stop them from leaving.
