(The Minister
of State for Defence Procurement): I am today
laying a Departmental Minute to advise that the Ministry of
Defence has received approval from Her Majesty’s Treasury to
recognise a new contingent liability associated with the
operation of satellites conducting in-orbit research by the
Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl).
The Departmental Minute describes the contingent liability that
the Ministry of Defence (MOD) will hold as part of its Space
Science & Technology Programme.
Dstl has installed a ground station at its Portsdown West site,
which will contribute to supporting space research activities,
upskilling civilian and military personnel in satellite mission
operations, and task its first research satellites for the
Ministry of Defence. Through this programme, MOD will develop the
skills and capability to achieve its strategic objectives in the
space domain.
The contingent liability will last the duration of Dstl’s
operation of the satellites and will come into effect if a
satellite collision was caused via Dstl operation. Mitigations
are in place against risks to minimise likelihood and impact
which are deemed to be 0.001-0.01%. Her Majesty’s Treasury has
approved a value of up to £500 million for the contingent
liability to cover the maximum estimated damage cost resulting
from a collision. The MOD will note the liability in its
accounts. May 2020
