{"id":22281,"date":"2020-06-23T15:13:31","date_gmt":"2020-06-23T14:13:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=22281"},"modified":"2020-11-12T12:44:26","modified_gmt":"2020-11-12T12:44:26","slug":"invest-in-uk-space-programme-call","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=22281","title":{"rendered":"Invest in UK space programme call"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Unite is urging the government to commit to invest in the UK\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s space programme in the interests of national security and to\u00c2\u00a0ensure that thousands of highly skilled jobs are not put at further\u00c2\u00a0risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The government has yet to commit to invest in its own version of the European Union\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Galileo global navigation satellite system (GNSS). The UK lost access to the project when it left the EU.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unite says that it is essential that the UK has access to such a system in order to allow satellites to securely transmit information to other platforms which can have military, critical national infrastructure, civilian and scientific purposes.  For example, fighter jets need a satellite infrastructure to supports their operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The union says that if the UK does not commit to developing its own version of Galileo it will be forced to rely on off-the-shelf systems, which will not only leave it vulnerable to denial of access to systems that underpin our most critical infrastructure but also lead to a loss of skills and jobs in the UK\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s space industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prior to Brexit the UK were major players in the Galileo project with workers at Airbus being the word leaders in the crucial encryption technology which is essential to prevent messages being intercepted by foreign powers. SSTL, an Airbus UK company, also built the payloads (the communications antennas, receivers, and transmitters) for the Galileo project .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At present, the UK is a major global space player with a diverse and rich supply chain, and an ambition to grow its market share both through domestic and export opportunities. As an example Airbus UK last year won 30 percent of the commercial satellite market and employs over 3,500 people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To further succeed in this ambition the UK needs to commit to a GNSS solution to retain jobs and also complete its industrial strategy review so that a strong national capability can be maintained and supported with appropriate R&D driving UK investment and supply chain security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The UK\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s own GNSS system is also essential for the further development of drone technology and the drive for autonomy in transport systems. As we become more reliant and more demanding of drone technologies and driverless cars secure access to GNSS is critical and will allow UK to continue to be a world leader.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unite national officer for aerospace Rhys McCarthy said,\u00c2\u00a0\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe government has got to commit to invest in the UK\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s space programme.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWithout the support of the government, thousands of highly skilled jobs could be lost and the expertise that the UK currently holds could go overseas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The emerging economy of autonomous vehicles and modern-day defence technologies\u00c2\u00a0depend on a satellite infrastructure in order to operate.\u00c2\u00a0 Failure to invest now will\u00c2\u00a0send the UK to the bottom of the league when we ought to be global champions,” he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“A sovereign satellite system will not only defend the UK it will defend the economy post-pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIn the uncertain times of the 21st<\/sup>\u00c2\u00a0century, when cyber-security is a massive concern, it is absolutely imperative that the UK does not lose its skills capability and does not compromise national security.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Barckley Sumner<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Unite is urging the government to commit to invest in the UK\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s space programme in the interests of national security and to\u00c2\u00a0ensure that thousands of highly skilled jobs are not put at further\u00c2\u00a0risk. The government has yet to commit to invest in its own version of the European Union\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Galileo global navigation satellite system (GNSS). […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":22282,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"wps_subtitle":"Unite: Gov't must invest in UK space programme or lose skills and risk security","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22281"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=22281"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22281\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22284,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22281\/revisions\/22284"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/22282"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=22281"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=22281"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=22281"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}