SENIOR officials from the UK Space Agency held more than 130 meetings with the Ministry of Defence in 2024, prompting renewed concerns about the “weaponisation” of space.
The meetings discussed the spaceport being built at SaxaVord on Shetland, using nuclear reactors in space and collaboration with the US, Nato and arms companies. Two members of the agency’s advisory board also work for the Ministry of Defence (MoD).
The subject of one meeting was kept secret because it was about a project that was “highly confidential and not in the public domain”. Releasing its title risked “compromising our nation’s security”, said the agency.
The meetings, revealed in response to a freedom of information request, have been criticised by campaigners. Though Scotland’s bid to build spaceports is marketed as scientific research, it is driven by the defence industry, they say.
They warn that space could become a “new frontier of conflict” that would put humanity at risk. They fear that spaceports could be “a trojan horse for the arms industry” and demand transparency.
The Space Agency and the MoD both stressed it was necessary to work together “to protect critical national infrastructure from space-based threats”.
SaxaVord, on the northern tip of the most northerly inhabited Shetland isle, Unst, is leading the race to open a spaceport in Scotland. It told MPs in February that it would be ready for its first launch in July.
The Shetland News also reported in February that Scotland’s richest man and biggest private landowner, Anders Holch Povlsen (below) , had increased his stake in SaxaVord from 25% to more than 50%, making him the majority shareholder.
The Ferret reported in 2021 that Povlsen secretly lobbied the Scottish Government against building another spaceport on the A’ Mhoine peninsula in north Sutherland, near one of his estates.
In December 2024, work on the Sutherland spaceport was put on hold, with initial launches planned from SaxaVord instead. There are also spaceports planned for Machrihanish in the Kintyre peninsula, Prestwick in South Ayrshire and North Uist in the Outer Hebrides.
The UK Space Agency was asked to list all meetings by six of its senior staff with the MoD in 2024. The agency responded under freedom of information law with a six-page list taken from calendar records, showing more than 130 meetings. Some were attended by more than one agency official.
Nine meetings of the agency’s advisory board and its audit and risk assurance committee in 2024 also involved people who work for the MoD. According to the agency’s register of interests, two of its non-executive board members, Kevin Shaw and Peter Watkins, are paid advisors for the MoD.
Most of the 130 meetings were given a title, summarising their purpose. On January 15, 2024 the Space Agency’s chief executive, Dr Paul Bate, met the MoD for a “discussion on SaxaVord and next steps for His Majesty’s Government”.
Earlier the same month, agency director, Matt Archer, discussed SaxaVord with the government’s National Security Strategic Investment Fund, which invests in defence. On March 27, 2024 Archer met the MoD with Orbex, the Scottish space company that switched its planned launches from Sutherland to SaxaVord.
Archer attended four meetings in 2024 with the MoD to discuss NATO space plans. Along with the MoD, he also met with the US Space Force and at the US Embassy.
Chief executive Bate met four times with Major General Paul Tedman, for “catch-ups”, lunch and a discussion on the MoD’s strategic defence review. Tedman was appointed as the UK’s military space commander in May 2024, having previously been a deputy director at US Space Command.
The Space Agency’s two deputy chief executives, Annelies Look and Chris White-Horne, also had lunch with Tedman on 22 October 2024. In addition, Look and Bate had meetings with the MoD about the use of nuclear power in space, and White-Horne discussed “space defence civil alignment”.
Alongside the MoD, Bate met with three big arms companies in 2024. They were the British arms multinational, BAE Systems; the European aerospace and defence company, Airbus, and the joint French and Italian venture, Thales Alenia Space.
The name of one company involved in a meeting was kept secret to protect its “commercial interests”. The title of another meeting was redacted “for the purposes of safeguarding national security”, the Space Agency said.
It added: “This meeting title references an area of work which is highly confidential and not in the public domain. Releasing this information into the public domain would undermine our position with defence colleagues and any damage to these relationships with our partner departments could compromise our nation’s security.”
The Freedom of Information request was made by the campaign group, Space Watch UK. “Although the space industry presents itself as being about science, discovery, and inspiration, the reality is that much of the work in the sector is military related,” said the group’s Peter Burt.
“The information released by the Space Agency shows that it works hand-in-hand with the MoD over virtually the whole remit of the agency’s work – launch programmes, satellite communication, earth observation, and international co-operation.”
Burt pointed out that space technologies were born out of weaponry developed by the Nazis in World War Two. “Nowadays, these
technologies are still being developed, not for the collective benefit of humankind, but largely for their military applications,” he told The Ferret.
“When space programmes become indistinguishable from military agendas we accelerate a new frontier of conflict. Space should be a realm of shared scientific endeavour, not a battleground for geopolitical dominance.”
He added: “Military space projects divert resources from humanitarian needs and normalise the weaponisation of the cosmos – increasing the risks we all face from warfare. We need to see more transparency from the UK Space Agency about co-operation with the MoD.”
The Scottish Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, which has also been monitoring spaceports, argued that space should be kept for peace. “Secrecy about launches whose purpose if declared would ‘compromise our nation’s security’ does not sound like a civil communications satellite or scientific experiment,” said the campaign’s David Kelly.
“We do not expect to be told the details of the UK’s defence strategy. But the truth about what these spaceports are really for, instead of the fluff about civilian use, would be appropriate.”
According to the Scottish Greens, spaceports could be “amazing” for scientific research. “We would be very concerned if it is being hijacked by the military or used as a trojan horse for the arms industry and the further militarisation of space,” said the Green MSP, Ariane Burgess (below).
“This data raises a lot of questions, but we need answers from the MoD and others, particularly when the United States is acting so recklessly and irresponsibly on the world stage.”
The UK Space Agency highlighted the formation of the UK Government’s National Space Operations Centre to bring together “civil and military” capabilities.
“We work closely with a range of government departments to deliver our shared ambitions for the UK space sector and to protect critical national infrastructure from space-based threats,” said an agency spokesperson.
The Ministry of Defence made the same point. “The MoD and UK Space Command have a number of routine engagements with allies and partners,” said a spokesperson.
“Collaboration between departments and partners is essential for the continued success of the UK space sector and to protect critical national infrastructure from space-based threats.”
SaxaVord did not respond to requests to comment.
The Ferret reported in 2020 that the arms industry was preparing to use Scottish spaceports to launch military spy satellites. At that time, multinational arms companies were manoeuvring to take advantage of the spaceports.
